DMI: Disaster Risk Reduction Conference

The brief

The institute's position had to come through before any coverage began: this is an organisation that works towards zero tolerance for disasters, and the conference was its instrument for educating, coaching and raising awareness of how natural and man-made risk is managed. The communication task was to create awareness without fear, and to bring stakeholders from different segments of administration, industry and civil society into the discussion.

Why 2016 gave the subject its moment

The Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015–2030 was adopted by UN Member States on 18 March 2015, at the third UN World Conference in Sendai, Japan. It calls on countries to prevent new risk and reduce existing risk, and raises participation from governments, the public and stakeholders. India signed the framework and, in June 2016, released its first National Disaster Management Plan built around those priorities. The Bhopal conference gave the country's specialists and press a gathering squarely inside that national effort.

Media work

Our team worked the story along three lines:

1. Beat-first invitations. We met the media houses that write extensively on disaster management and environmental issues — the reporters who could judge the substance of what would be presented.
2. International angle. Briefs were shared with international news reporters interested in how India is becoming an active participant after the Sendai Framework was formed.
3. A release with depth. The press release was drafted to carry adequate mention of the issues that preceded the conference, and enough quotes from competent authorities for any desk to file the story without a follow-up round.

Coverage and outcomes