On 28th of April a virtual workshop on Crisis Management amid Covid-19 was held as part of the Connective Cities Series on Municipal Response to COVID-19. The event focused on the importance of multi-sectoral cooperation and fast communication strategies in unpredictable circumstances.

Approximately 15 participants from Georgia, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Moldova and Ukraine took part in the workshop.

The event focused on

• Presenting crisis communication strategies/approaches
• Introducing community-based disaster risk reduction methodology
• Providing recommendations about possible next steps

After the event all attendees were given certificates of completion of the workshop.

Program

This virtual event was opened by welcoming remarks made by Dr. Piotr Żuber. Dr. Żuber provided background information of the workshop and briefly overviewed the agenda. Following the introduction, Mr. Edmunds Akitis, International Consultant, advanced into leading the core sessions.

The workshop revolved around the following three main topics:

• Crisis Communication
• Building back better in the pandemic period / recovery
• Community based disaster risk management

Each segment was followed by a session of questions and answers, allowing participants to grasp the content more thoroughly. Attendees were also given floor to present practices and challenges of crisis management from their respective municipalities.

Presentations

1. General Presentation of Crisis Management - Mr. Edmunds Akitis, International Consultant
2. Evaluation of good municipal practices in the pandemic period - Mr. Edmunds Akitis, International Consultant
3. Methodology of community-based disaster risk management planning - Mr. Edmunds Akitis, International Consultant

Results

During this online workshop representatives from multitudes of municipalities exchanged their experiences and insights of crisis and its communication in their communities. Moreover, they were introduced to some successful practices as well as generally acclaimed structures of communication approaches. Identification of fake news and establishment of early warning systems were some of the highlighted topics discussed during the event.

Impressions

Video: Municipal Response to COVID-19: Crisis management