Communicating Mine Action A tool box

Creating understanding, visibility

and engagement

Why communication?

- Manage your reputation

- Create awareness for the cause of Mine Action

- Improve visibility of the organisation

- Relate with your stakeholders

• Maintain existing stakeholders interested and engaged

• Create new relationships and partnerships, opportunities for financial support

• Demonstrate commitment, success, results, impact

Why communication?

Communication that is truly impactful is not just about communicating

facts.

It’s about building relationships.

• Rapport: Do your stakeholders feel connected to the organization?

• Communication: How are you keeping in touch with your stakeholders?

• Impact: Do they know what you have accomplished?

Fact: 60% of donors stop giving because they don’t feel connected enough.

Building Relationships

Who do you want to reach?

• Local and national governments/politicians • Influencers and opinion leaders, community leaders, religious leaders • Government donors and partners (national and international) • Private donors and partners • Mine Action community/ human security actors • International organisations • General public • Media (local, national, international)

Do not forget: engage with your own governance, management and staff!

Define your target audience

What is the best way to reach your audiences?

• Personal contact: meet in person with your primary partners regularly

• Print: publications, brochures, infographics, banners, posters

• Digital: websites, social media, email alerts, newsletters

• Audio-visual: films, animations

• Events, campaigns: public events, digital campaigns, shows, demonstrations

• Media: media relations, media coverage and monitoring

• Corporate Identity: logo, presentations, gifts, stationary, staff outfit

Define your communication channels

What are the best arguments for the different audiences?

• What arguments are important to them?

• What do they base their decisions on? (especially donors) /

• What are their requests (formalities, data, …)

• What are the topics they are interested in (ex: women, environment, health, …)

• What triggers their emotions?

Define your arguments

Arguments: From activities to vision

Vision

Mission

Strategic Objectives

Goals

Objectives

Activities and Milestones

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Accomplishments to achieve the strategic objectives

What is the future state of the mine action sector in your country

The reasons for your institution’s existence

Steps toward accomplishing a goal

Actions to be accomplished to realize an objective

Priority areas required to achieve the vision

• Tracking and organizing data

• Data = information = basis of your communication

• What you need:

• Continuous information gathering

• Reliable, consistent information

• Transparency in activities and spending

Demonstrating Impact: Data

• Harnessing data:

• Humanitarian and economic

• Concrete information

• Link data to impact:

• X km2 of land cleared

• X km2 of land put into productive use

• # of families back home /jobs created

Demonstrating Impact: Data

Ask yourself: • What is the real story behind the numbers? Human story! It is not about km2 cleared, but about what it means for the people!

• Saved lives • Dignity • Livelihoods • Access to health, school • Etc.

From Data to Emotions

Your role is to demonstrate your role in these success stories

• Track record of progress made, projects completed

• Find people whose lives changed thanks to your action The more detailed and impactful, the better!

• Leverage your skills & experience! Remember: Nobody knows your organisation/programme like you do

Telling Your Story

The formula is simple:

• Use powerful statistics to show progress: data

• Bring it to life with a personal narrative: human story

• Make it visual: add photos and/or videos

• Be consistent, clear and simple!

Success Stories

• Who Identify your stakeholders

• What Define needs of stakeholders

• How • Create and maintain engagement

• Consistency in communication and relationships

• Simplicity in communications

• Transparency in operations, spending

• Make it human

Key points

Examples: Events

Examples: Media and public speaking

Examples: Awareness campaigns