I will soon be stepping down from my position as Vice-Chair of the IAMCR Crisis Security and Conflict Communication Working Group.
It’s been a pleasure to work with Virpi and the CRI WG over the past four years. Despite a global pandemic, these years were enormously rewarding and saw a significant growth in group membership and activity. It’s been lovely to get to know members of the WG. I’ve also seen colleagues progress their careers since 2021.
Two Vice-Chair roles are among those to be up for election this month. It’s a great opportunity to work with a diverse group of scholars interested in crisis and conflict communication.
Interested candidates should send their name, institutional position, a statement of no more than 500 words and a photograph to elections@iamcr.org by Friday 4 April, with a copy to the S/WG elections coordinator Andrea Medrado (A.Medrado@exeter.ac.uk) and to Virpi and I as current leaders of the WG.
If you have any questions about the role then I please feel free to drop me a line (paul.reilly@glasgow.ac.uk).
Research Culture & Researcher Development, University of Glasgow
I have been recognised as an Outstanding Mentor by the University of Glasgow’s Research Culture and Researcher Development (RCRD) team. One of my mentees (very kindly!) wrote this about my mentoring skills:
“The mentorship has helped me to take think about the priorities in my career and has facilitated taking important career decisions. My mentor has given me insights on different dimensions to consider when planning to move to the next career stage and has helped me to reflect over those dimensions in very productive way..”
Thanks to all of my mentees and Dr. Elaine Gourlay of the RCRD team for their very positive feedback and support- very much appreciated!
Debate on social media and crisis communication, UNOCHA HNPW, 21 March
Next Friday (21 March) I will be an invited participant in a debate on social media and crisis communication. This event is organised by Asad Tahir from the University of Leicester and the Avoidable Deaths Network. It is part of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA) #HumanitarianWeek.
Jamie Wardman (University of Leicester), Christian Morgner (University of Sheffield), and I will explore the opportunities of using online platforms. We will also evaluate the challenges that arise during crisis situations.
A synopsis of the event is below:
The objectives of this session include: 1) To maximize the visibility of crisis communication as an anticipatory action for reducing avoidable deaths by employing effective and proactive communication strategies; 2) To enhance awareness about avoidable disaster deaths among the audience as well as the organizers. The innovative idea of an engaging debate offers a unique opportunity for the audience and the organizers to learn from each other; 3) To provide a vibrant platform for communication experts, crisis leaders, NGOs, students, academics and researchers to share their informed insights about disaster deaths and crisis communication; 4) To discuss and deliberate about the scope and significance of crisis communication as an effective component of crisis preparedness to significantly reduce the number of avoidable deaths and people affected by disasters by 2030; 5) It is pertinent to highlight that ADN is part of the Sendai Framework’s Voluntary Commitments (SFVC) Platform. Our Voluntary Commitments to the UNDRR are inked until 2030, especially focusing on the first two targets of the Sendai Framework. Therefore, this session promises an opportunity to not only manifest our commitments to the UNDRR but also maximize the visibility of our continued endeavors at the UNOCHA’s Summit in Geneva; and 6) Above all, this interesting and innovative debate seeks to promote awareness and enhance knowledge about the theory and practice related to avoidable deaths and crisis communication strategies as an effective tool for crisis preparedness
There is still time to register for this event here
Dr Paul Reilly 