The In-Country Workshop on Climate Change and Disaster Risk Management was held in Bangkok from 30 to 31 March 2016. Our host and partner for this event was the Public Relations Department (PRD) of the Government of Thailand and the event was held at their headquarters. The Bangkok office of the Asian Disaster Preparedness Center (ADPC) and the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNISDR) both provided resource persons to make this workshop possible. The workshop was attended by 28 producers, journalists and media officers from different departments in PRD.

The In-Country Workshop on Climate Change and Disaster Risk Management was held in Bangkok from 30 to 31 March 2016. Our host and partner for this event was the Public Relations Department (PRD) of the Government of Thailand and the event was held at their headquarters. The Bangkok office of the Asian Disaster Preparedness Center (ADPC) and the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNISDR) both provided resource persons to make this workshop possible. The workshop was attended by 28 producers, journalists and media officers from different departments in PRD.

On Day One, following the opening ceremony, the workshop began with an opening statement by Dr Bhichit Rattakul, Special Advisor for ADPC and former governor of Bangkok province. He stressed the urgent need for broadcasters to fulfill their role as the bridge between the scientists and technicians working on issues of disasters and climate change, and the larger public.  Following this, AIBD Programme Manager Saqib Sheikh made a short presentation on the background for the workshop and the new initiative by AIBD to pursue the agenda of the Sustainable Development Goals for media practitioners.

For the rest of Day One, UNISDR Communication Specialist Mr Andy McElroy led the way. He gave a brief introduction into the concept of disaster risk reduction with relevant examples, such as the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction. Then he explained how both disaster scenarios and disaster risk can be tackled differently when developing a news story. He split the participants into groups who separately developed story concepts on covering disasters and major events in the field, and what important facts must be reflected to the audience.

On Day Two, the ADPC team took over with five different experts assisting in different sessions revolving around climate change. The opening sessions went into the basic science on climate change to provide the groundwork for the participants on the issue. A further presentation took on the issue of how drought occur which is relevant to the current situation in Thailand. The participants were engaged into two different group sessions, the first on explaining the map of a disaster zone to the viewing audience, and the second on creating a more in-depth programme based on two fact sheets for floods and droughts. The participants presented their concepts in a lively way to the experts for their feedback on the accuracy of data presented.

The overall workshop went smoothly and was well-received. The participants were engaged throughout and the PRD support staff were very cooperative and helpful. Many of the participants spoke of how they will directly apply the lessons learned in their coverage of disasters and related environmental issues.