Side Event
As the World Burns: Soap Operas and Social Marketing as Tools to Combat Climate Change in the Caribbean
Organizer
PCI - Media Impact
Date and Time
26 October 2010 16:30 - 18:0
Meeting
Tenth meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (COP 10)
Small islands are especially vulnerable to the impacts of climate change on ecosystems, protected areas, economies, tourism and the communities that live there. While global attention has been brought to bear on this issue, there remains a critical communications challenge: how to effectively engage the public, ensuring they have access to sound and timely information and the capacity necessary to respond and develop a clear vision of what they can do to help adapt to the challenges posed by climate change. In January 2010, Media Impact, the Organization of Eastern Caribbean States and 13 partner organizations launched a pilot program entitled My Island – My Community, an ambitious partnership committed to building public awareness across the Caribbean to encourage wide spread behavior change with regard to small island community preparedness for, and adaptation to, climate change. It brings together a unique network of organizations committed to using the power of communications to enhance knowledge sharing, engage the public and support community-based adaption activities across 11 Caribbean countries, including the 9 OECS countries, Trinidad and Tobago and Jamaica. Join Media Impact, the OECS and My Island - My Community program participants as we delve into the use of media to tackle the complex issue of climate change both with an introduction to the on-going program - including excerpts from the soap opera - and hands-on activities to get you thinking about how to harness the power of mass media and mitigate the impacts of climate change in your community.