Awareness Raising for the Drivers in the United Arab Emirates - Report Example

In order to understand the exact ramifications of an emergency and the steps that need to be taken in order to manage it, one needs to first and foremost put forward a definition that defines the term emergency. An emergency is in essence a situation that might bring an express and immediate hazard to health, life, property and environment. The nature of emergency is such that they require immediate attention as well as intervention from some outside party in order to be brought under control. Emergencies it has to be accepted have a number of facets to their identity. While precautionary care might just take the sting out of a number of emergency situations there are those in case of which no kind of precautionary steps can be taken. Accidents do happen and will continue to happen for a long time; natural disasters that are unforeseen and unpredicted rear their ugly heads and leave behind in their wake a trail of death and utter destruction. The only way in fact that one can hope to attain a semblance of order in emergencies is by planning ahead and having a system in place whose basic function is to deal with emergencies require immediate attention in order to mitigate the effects. There are some emergencies that are clear and well evident. These, more often than not are natural disasters and affect and threaten many. Case in points would be the tsunami, earthquakes in China, the hurricane Katrina among others. There can on the other hand be smaller instances which require the individualistic judgment of an onlooker or that of someone involved in order to arrive at a verdict about whether or not there actually is an emergency that needs to be considered. An emergency usually has high chances of increasing in magnitude and cause real harm to life, property or environment and it is in this case that the need for emergency management becomes obvious. Emergency or disaster management is a branch of learning that is concerned with the methodologies and approaches in which one can handle emergencies. The discipline has to be approached with a lot of thought and care because of the fact that its findings, observations and conclusions can have serious ramifications in actual human existence especially during situations that one considers a crisis. The idea of emergency management is inclusive of preparing for disaster before it occurs, disaster reaction i.e. emergency evacuation, quarantine, mass decontamination as well as supporting, and rebuilding society after natural or human-made disasters have occurred. Simply put, Emergency management is a constant procedure by which people, units, and communities deal with risks and dangers in efforts to avoid and lessen the impact of tragedies resulting from the danger. Often the perception of risk is the deciding factor behind emergency management. Emergency management, in order to be successful requires a successful integration of efforts between communities, government agencies and emergency managing agencies. What one needs to make clear is the fact that in episodes of emergency management, actions that are taken at a level leave a bearing on all other levels of organization and action as well. The Modern scheme of things demands that emergency management in most of the countries around the world be entrusted to in the hands of defense services. It is actually an accepted practice these days to find the onus for emergency management as far as government agencies are concerned to be put on defense services, the rationale being on a more general intent to protect the civilian population in times of peace as well as in times of war. The term Crisis Management lays emphasis on the political and security dimension rather than measures to satisfy the direct needs of the civilian population. An academic trend is towards using the term disaster risk reduction, particularly for emergency management in a development management context. This focuses on the mitigation and preparedness aspects of the emergency cycle in practical terms, what is it then that constitutes an emergency? All disasters are emergencies but all emergencies cannot be disasters. An emergency can therefore be anything ranging from natural calamities like earthquakes and floods to public emergencies like fires and personal emergencies like accidents and mishaps. There is a new kind of emergency situation that is in fact a part and parcel of everyday modern existence. This is the threat from terrorism and terrorist attacks. The world has not seen tragedy and emergency on the scale of the recent terrorist attacks on the world trade center or more recently the attacks in Mumbai, India. The following report seeks to establish a campaign regarding the management of emergencies, methodologies, raising awareness about mitigation and dealing with aftereffects and then chalk a campaign strategy including usage of leaflets, posters, guides letters and short films. Any plan for working out a strategy for raising awareness among the public with regards to emergencies requires an outlining of the background of emergency and disaster management in the country earlier, existing authorities and provisions to deal with potential emergencies. Emergencies in the United Arab Emirates are linked in a big way to the political conditions West Asia. Emergency management thus is of primary concern in the administration run under Prince General Mohammed Bin Zayed Al Nahyan. Unlike a number of countries around the globe there is an active effort that seems to have been made on the part of the government to set up emergency management institutions. There is a national emergency strategy in place. A national Emergency Authority has been created which works along with the NCEMA, i.e. National Crisis and Emergency Management Authority. The creation of a National Emergency Authority to handle large-scale national emergencies was announced by Sheikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai in 2007. The emergency strategy and the planned emergency authority demonstrate the fact that there is an active interest in securing a proper efficient and coordinated response to all potential national emergencies and threats. The focus of the government is on dealing with potential threats arising out of incidents of bird flu, earthquakes, aircraft accidents, storms, bombings or any form of armed aggression - especially involving weapons of mass destruction (WMD). The desire on the part of UAE to effectively deal with and negate the effects of a disaster or an emergency is visible by virtue of the Conference that was organized by the NCEMA and held under the crown Prince of Abu Dhabi. The conference was named as ‘Crisis and Emergency Management Conference’. It was in fact at this conference that the need for a close cooperation between the public and private sector for dealing with emergencies was stressed. It has been recognized at forums like the conference that the rapid speed of economic and commercial growth in the region that had been driven mostly by oil brought and the transformation of the cities in UAE as major centers of business and tourism brought with it a new set of trials and threats. These threats have been recognizes and put on record as being those of health risks, terrorism, cyber threats and crimes, money laundering, human and drug trafficking, natural and environmental disasters. The idea of the institutional set up therefore is to focus on the management of emergencies, coordinate between different sectors involved in disaster management; and respond and counter biological, chemical and radioactive crises and their impacts on society. There has also in fact been the set up of formal practice and training in the ways and methodologies of dealing with emergencies of the kinds that have been listed above. There is however a very apparent gap between the theory and practice. The institutional set up concentrates vastly on the initiatives that need to be taken by the governments and the civic bodies that need to deal with emergencies. There is little or almost no mention of the efforts that have to be made in order to educate the public as such and awareness in the civic Diaspora is an almost essential part of effective emergency management. Panic is a common factor that seems to hinder a large part of most emergency management efforts. This is in almost all cases a result of ignorance on the part of the civil mass. The basic reasoning behind the following report and a sketch of the campaign that could work is to raise the awareness of the public in order to ensure that tragedy due to ignorance is avoided. If one was to identify the aims and objectives of the campaign, the immediate context that comes to mind is that the aims should be identifiable with those of a social marketing campaign. The campaign will thus seek to apply the principles and techniques of commercial marketing strategies to analyze plan and execute the program designed to influence the voluntary behavior\r of its target audience in a certain way. But unlike a number of other campaigns this one does not seek to address the issue of value or perception change. It is mostly an awareness campaign. The basic objectives of the campaign can be divided in to the immediate aims and the long term aims: The immediate aims can be marked as being: Define emergencies and the need for effective and efficient transportation in times of need. Help clarify the exact role of transportation and transporters in case of emergencies, In most emergencies and an efficient management required that the importance of an individual, be emphasized It is important that each one of the emergency management units be aware of the plan of action i.e. each one has to know what he is supposed to be doing as part of the bigger plan Emphasis on safe driving during emergencies as well Basic information availability of the appropriate agencies in case of emergency Warning systems have to clarified and well understood These aims are, as stated earlier simple to achieve and are manifest in the way the campaign posters and advertisements will be designed. They are in essence short term goals that seek to be the formative ground for the fulfillment of the general ends or the long terms goals which can be stated as: Involvement of the local leadership of the driver community as part of the local leadership for the awareness raising campaign has to be inducted Stimulus and better motivation for the better growth and development of NGOs that are working in the area Ideally the main long term aim of the campaign is to ensure that drivers participate in emergency workshops that would be organized for them and their training Dissemination of information about evacuation techniques and procedures The most important long term aim of all however is the induction of a culture by which a driver will stop at the sight of an emergency and help out those in need by transporting them to aid. There necessarily has to be the erosion of the culture of indifference The importance of drivers in an emergency situation cannot be stressed enough. And it is because their role in an efficient management of emergency situations is so important and vital that it becomes absolutely essential in raising their levels of awareness about what it is that is expected out of them. Drivers that can keep a cool head and help in the removal of as many people as possible from the spot of concern to safety is of high importance. Moreover, transporters in any given city are important during the time of emergency situations because it on them that the responsibility of shifting the injured to places where medical care is available ultimately descends. All of this however is dependent mostly on the ability of drivers and transporters to grasp the seriousness of a given emergency and to act quickly in an manner suitable to mitigate the damage done by the situation as far as is possible. The importance of drivers can be understood in terms of two basic notions- those of evacuation and of reallocation. Emergency evacuation is one of the very basic elements of any kind of an emergency management program. It basically means the movement of people from the place where the immediate danger exists. This also includes patient evacuation. After the emergency is over there is another requirement which is of reallocation of people moved back to their original habitat. Emergency management has it ultimately goal as being the ability to bring life back to normal in the wake of a dangerous and life taking situation. For all of this the importance of drivers can never be stressed enough. It also has to be remembered that during a lot of emergencies it is not just the movement of people that is important but the movement of supplies like food, water, clothes and medical aid to and fro the relief camps that is important. For this purpose as well then the need for having drivers who are aware of the nuances of emergency management and are adept at dealing with situations that are out of the ordinary. Having understood the reasoning and importance of target selection one can now try and outline the basic elements of the campaign and the strategies that are to be used in the implementation of the campaign set goals. The campaign is in essence a social marketing campaign and has its basic aim as spreading awareness coupled with ideating a behavior change in the target audience. The basic elements of the marketing campaign can be outlined simultaneously with the strategies that are to be adopted in the implementation of the campaign. The first and basic element of the campaign has to be an understanding of the target population. There way of life and needs have to be understood in order to elk out an effective strategy to get the information. There therefore is the need for effective market research in the fisrt phase of the campaign. What becomes clear with respect to our target population in this particular case is the fact that most of them are not well read, there would in fact even be those who do are even school pass-outs. Trying to get a message across to them and that too a message with this kind of a sensitivity and importance attached has to be done in a manner that would ignite an interest. The cultural, economic and religious views have to be understood in kept in perspective while designing other aspects of the campaign in question. The most essential aspect about a campaign like this one is that it has to make a lot of noise. There has to be a reach in the program. In case it does not reach the target audience there would be no point in running the campaign in the first place. As such then the strategy to ensure that the campaign reaches the driver community is probably the most important aspect of the strategizing process. Social marketing campaigns make use of a combination of mediums like TV, radio, billboards, websites, booklets and brochures among other things. But when one looks at the target audience it becomes clear that the medium like websites that would be ideal for any other campaign is almost useless in this case. What then are the media that can be utilized in order to get the message across in a clear manner and ensure the participation of the target audience? 1) First and foremost TV advertisements can be utilized in very effective manners. There can be ads that can be created with an emphasis on past stories from around the world where effective evacuation prevented big tragedies or work that is being done by drivers in getting relief across to victims can be highlighted. 2) The second medium that has to be used and used in a big way is that of the radio. Radio is the one medium of mass communication to which the target communuty is most exposed. The only medium of mass communication in which there can be no help available at all from kind of a visual aid. Everything has to be said, every picture that has to be painted has to be done so in terms of words more than anything else. There can be jinglss that can be created and broadcast over the radio. Only thing that has to be kept in mind is that most of thesehave to be in languages that can be easily understood and enjoyed by the target audience. 3) Diners, and restaurants are places where it needs to be ensured that literature associated with the campaign is made most available. Again it has to be remembered while designing the literature such as posters, pamphlets and booklets that most of it has to be in simple language, no big words, nothing can be termed as boring. Instead visuals, cartoons, pictures of big names or models have to be utilized in order to not just get the required attention but to hold on to it as well. Research shows that while Arabic is the recognized national language, the country has a huge influx of foreigners who mostly talk in English, more often than not therefore the campaign literature has to be available in both Arabic and in English. What is interesting to note is the fact that the country has among the highest ratings of accident causing deaths any where in the world. 4) Another important element of the campaign is the setting up of awareness groups, driver unions can be used as ready grounds for this kind of training groups. The last element which has more to do with management of the campaign is probably among the most important ones if the success of the campaign is to be in question. Price of the campaign has to be understood. Has two big facets to it. First is the price that the campaign demands from the target in terms of time, effort, energy and intellectual capability. It has to be ensured that this particular price in the campaign has to kept at a minimum. In case this price is too high the campaign is almost guaranteed to be a failure. The second aspect of the pricing element is the price for the formulation and implementation of the campaign. Designing the literature, setting up a website, shooting videos and especially buying air-time on TV as well on radio requires money. Until and unless there are adequate funds available all of the planning and all of the strategizing amounts to nothing. It also has to be remembered that the campaign has to be designed keeping in the budget in mind. Section II: Website: The website in essence has to just have a link to information about who to contact in case of training requirement, equipments and basic literature. Another method would probably be the usage of new media such as sending messages across via SMS and making use of call center like facilities. Websites have to be updated to as to be accessed by mobile phones. The basic literature has to consist of first aid techniques that ideally every driver should know. Secondly, there has to maps available pointing out routes to all the hospitals and medical centers within every accident prone vicinity. TV and Radio Ads- Videos have to be created in order to highlight past emergency management situations and how effective work saved lives. The focus has to be on the creation of a tune or a line which is immediately identifiable with the campaign. Jingles have to state the same thing-the virtues of helping others have to be made to sound promising and the capabilities of the individual be highlighted. Moreover the creatives have to include the usage of some kind of an icon or star. Someone that the particular strata looks up to in the form of idol worship. These ads can also highlight the fact that UAE has the most number of accidents, thereby saying that there is a need for a more cautious behavior while driving and in case of accidents the culture of helping others should be promoted. Images of someone holding a hand, or an example of a life that was saved by a conscientious driver can be depicted in the visual ads. Billboards and Posters: These are mediums that have their limitations. There is only so much that can be communicated with the help of a billboard hoarding or a poster. the basic idea in this regard then is simple. The literature here has to push the short term aims of the campaign i.e. to make the drivers aware of the campaign and arouse interest in participation. The slogan that is being pushed through TV and radio have to be brought to the forefront in a big way. This can be done by the distribution of stickers and handouts at service stations and diners. Banners which state that there is help which is needed can be put up at busy roads. Recorded messages by sportsmen like footballers which state that they are a part of the campaign can be aired as well. Reference: Emergency, accessed on April 22, 2009, http://www.emergency.com/ UAE to host first regional emergency management conference, accessed on April 22, 2009 Read More

The idea of emergency management is inclusive of preparing for disaster before it occurs, disaster reaction i.e. emergency evacuation, quarantine, mass decontamination as well as supporting, and rebuilding society after natural or human-made disasters have occurred. Simply put, Emergency management is a constant procedure by which people, units, and communities deal with risks and dangers in efforts to avoid and lessen the impact of tragedies resulting from the danger. Often the perception of risk is the deciding factor behind emergency management.

Emergency management, in order to be successful requires a successful integration of efforts between communities, government agencies and emergency managing agencies. What one needs to make clear is the fact that in episodes of emergency management, actions that are taken at a level leave a bearing on all other levels of organization and action as well. The Modern scheme of things demands that emergency management in most of the countries around the world be entrusted to in the hands of defense services.

It is actually an accepted practice these days to find the onus for emergency management as far as government agencies are concerned to be put on defense services, the rationale being on a more general intent to protect the civilian population in times of peace as well as in times of war. The term Crisis Management lays emphasis on the political and security dimension rather than measures to satisfy the direct needs of the civilian population. An academic trend is towards using the term disaster risk reduction, particularly for emergency management in a development management context.

This focuses on the mitigation and preparedness aspects of the emergency cycle in practical terms, what is it then that constitutes an emergency? All disasters are emergencies but all emergencies cannot be disasters. An emergency can therefore be anything ranging from natural calamities like earthquakes and floods to public emergencies like fires and personal emergencies like accidents and mishaps. There is a new kind of emergency situation that is in fact a part and parcel of everyday modern existence.

This is the threat from terrorism and terrorist attacks. The world has not seen tragedy and emergency on the scale of the recent terrorist attacks on the world trade center or more recently the attacks in Mumbai, India. The following report seeks to establish a campaign regarding the management of emergencies, methodologies, raising awareness about mitigation and dealing with aftereffects and then chalk a campaign strategy including usage of leaflets, posters, guides letters and short films. Any plan for working out a strategy for raising awareness among the public with regards to emergencies requires an outlining of the background of emergency and disaster management in the country earlier, existing authorities and provisions to deal with potential emergencies.

Emergencies in the United Arab Emirates are linked in a big way to the political conditions West Asia. Emergency management thus is of primary concern in the administration run under Prince General Mohammed Bin Zayed Al Nahyan. Unlike a number of countries around the globe there is an active effort that seems to have been made on the part of the government to set up emergency management institutions. There is a national emergency strategy in place. A national Emergency Authority has been created which works along with the NCEMA, i.e. National Crisis and Emergency Management Authority.

The creation of a National Emergency Authority to handle large-scale national emergencies was announced by Sheikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai in 2007. The emergency strategy and the planned emergency authority demonstrate the fact that there is an active interest in securing a proper efficient and coordinated response to all potential national emergencies and threats. The focus of the government is on dealing with potential threats arising out of incidents of bird flu, earthquakes, aircraft accidents, storms, bombings or any form of armed aggression - especially involving weapons of mass destruction (WMD).

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