- DE |
- EN
Bogotá and Stuttgart optimised their vaccination campaigns, and used international experience to do so
Overview
Stuttgart (Germany) and Bogotá (Colombia) used Connective Cities' online expert dialogue 'The local implementation of vaccination strategies and related communication in municipalities' on 22-25 March 2021 to discuss with other municipalities around the world their communication strategies to combat the COVID-19 pandemic. They also used the meeting to find solutions to their local challenges.
Initial Situation
The COVID-19 pandemic is a global challenge. Governments in all countries of the world were suddenly faced with new and immense challenges when the pandemic broke out in early 2020, and came under pressure to act quickly.
COVID-19 vaccines have been available since late 2020, and municipalities around the world have had to organise the vaccination of their citizens. Municipalities developed innovative communication strategies to gain people's trust in vaccination, and reach the entire population with important information about the jabs. This included vulnerable groups such as the elderly and refugees.
Against this backdrop, Connective Cities hosted a series of online event series where municipalities had the opportunity to share their strategies regarding the COVID-19 pandemic. Municipalities were also able to advise each other on how to fight the COVID-19 pandemic, and find joint solutions for pandemic management.
Through a vaccination campaign, Bogotá – capital city of Colombia – wanted to counter misinformation about the vaccines and gain the public’s trust in the jabs. However, in various respects the campaign did not go as well as it might have. There was too little vaccine, and the allocation of vaccination appointments caused various problems.
Learning Experience
The Connective Cities virtual dialogue event on vaccination strategies and vaccination communication was held on 22-25 March 2021. There, eight municipalities and two municipal associations from Germany, Israel, Colombia, Serbia and Togo shared their experiences. While some municipalities faced a great deal of scepticism towards the vaccines, the City of Stuttgart in particular experienced a growing impatience among citizens about getting appointment for the jab as soon as possible.
During the dialogue event, the City of Bogotá shared its experiences with other participants in a working group on how to improve the city's public communication strategy, so that misinformation, fears and doubts did not affect the uptake of the vaccines offered by the city government.
Following the dialogue event, at two online meetings held on 5 and 30 November 2021 experts from Bogotá and Stuttgart continued their exchange on communication strategies, covering various aspects of COVID-19 vaccination. They each presented their experiences to date, with a particular focus on their participatory communication processes. Bogotá presented its strategy for engaging the population. This relied on the transfer of science-based information, to enable an informed decision on whether to accept or reject an offer of vaccination. For the participants from Stuttgart, these experiences were very helpful in achieving higher vaccination rates there too.
Project Ideas
Unlike other Connective Cities learning processes, this expert exchange was not about developing and implementing concrete project ideas. The pressure to act at the beginning of the pandemic was too high for that. Instead, the discussions focused on common challenges – with a view to achieving agile learning across national borders and continents.
Activities
Based on the exchange between the experts from the two cities, a list of tips on vaccine communication for municipalities was developed. The list is published on the Connective Cities website, and was accessed more than 118,000 times.
The City of Stuttgart used the inputs from other municipalities, and decided to expand its communication channels for vaccine communication. This included, for instance, using translation apps at the vaccination centres to target people who did not have a sufficient command of German. Moreover, Stuttgart was keen to acknowledge the key role of volunteers by offering them free training, among other things. It also invested additional resources in recruiting more volunteers.
Furthermore, the city set time windows for vaccinating different population groups, following the priorities set by politicians, which it communicated transparently.
Perspective
Because the COVID-19 pandemic kept throwing up new challenges at short notice right from the start, the City of Stuttgart decided to adapt its communication strategy continuously to the current challenges. It continued to convince vaccine sceptics of the benefits of the jab, and to address vulnerable groups that were marginalised and difficult to reach.
The tips on vaccine communication will remain relevant because they are also applicable to many other topics of municipal communication. Examples include involving all relevant stakeholders, and using different communication channels depending on the target group.
further Information
Vaccination and communication strategies in Bogotá
Virtual exchange between the cities of Bogotá (Columbia) and Stuttgart (Germany) on the local implementation of Covid-19 vaccination strategies and related communication actions on 5 and 30 November 2021
Covid-19: The local implementation of vaccination strategies and related communication in municipalities
Review of the virtual expert exchange on March 22nd and 25th, 2021
Published: 05/12/2022
Contact
Photos
Categories:
COVID-19
Digitalisation & Communication
Crisis Management
Regions:
Europe
Germany
Stuttgart
Latin America
Colombia
Bogotá
