Sri Lanka to host Global Communications Conference

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23/07/2013 – Colombo, Sri Lanka: The Sri Lanka Red Cross (SLRCS) with the support from the International Federation of Red Cross & Red Crescent Societies will host the Global Beneficiary Communications Boot Camp in Sri Lanka this October.

The boot camp will bring in practitioners of beneficiary communications to Sri Lanka in order to enhance their capacity with the latest tools in the trade.

The boot camp is expected to run from the 7^th – 11^th of October 2013.

As the world’s largest humanitarian organization our strength is our National Societies’ ability to mobilize and effect meaningful change in the lives of vulnerable people.

What we term “beneficiary communication” is about how we engage with people and their communities, show respect for their experience, understanding of their environments and learn to understand and respond to their needs. Beneficiary communication is a part of our service delivery.  It should be recognized at the center of all of our operations and services. It should not be seen as an afterthought, but a tool to assist us in the development, management and delivery of all our programs and response.

With technology increasingly shaping humanitarian action, the Red Cross Red Crescent is well placed to harness the latest developments in mass communication for maximum benefit.  The global telecommunications industry is, in many ways, shaping our environment. How we interact, how we share knowledge and how we develop as a society is increasingly being influenced by the application of mobile technologies.

No longer should it only be seen that we are disseminating information or engaging in order to just change the behaviors of beneficiaries.  The information we receive from, and the communication we have with beneficiaries, should change OUR behavior.

The Boot Camp will be broken down into three main sections.

• The first will be the piloting of a Beneficiary Communication curriculum. It will be interactive class room training with feedback sessions that will give participants an opportunity to comment on and help shape the final curriculum that will be developed as a global tool.

• The second will be hands on training in Beneficiary Communication tools and a simulation using the tools based on your choices in the survey

• The third section will be a day of NS discussing their needs and promoting what they are doing in their countries as well as what support they will need to further develop Beneficiary Communication in their NS and programs. The information gathered in these sessions will help steer the Global Beneficiary Communication agenda

For more information and other developments of the bootcamp, you can log into the boot camp site at www.redcross.lk/bootcamp