Date:  Friday,  September 24th 2021

Time:  13-14h (CEST)

Online Event: The Zoom link will be shared with registered participants 

Registration: Click HERE to register

Risk communication can be risky. Declining trust in authorities and in the media and the exponential increase in misinformation we are exposed to has led to communication fatigue and confusion.  COVID-19 has illustrated the challenges to communicate clearly and effectively when the risks are not fully known and evolving rapidly.
 

And yet, it has never been as important to communicate on risk to inform decisions that affect us as individuals and communities – in areas such as health and the environment that fundamentally shape our lives.
 

In collaboration with the Geneva Communicators Network , this seminar explores the increasing challenges of communicating on risk in uncertain times. It also presents the best practices to communicate risk effectively to build trust and encourage informed decision-making and positive behavioural change.

Speakers

Dr Glenn O’Neil
Founder of Owl RE, Research and Evaluation Services and Geneva Communicators Network
Adjunct Professor, MA in Communications Management, Webster University Geneva

Over the past 15 years, Dr. O’Neil has been involved in some 100 reviews and evaluations in over 50 countries in Africa, Asia, the Americas and Europe. Mainly at the project or programme level for international organisations and NGOs, the reviews and evaluations focused largely on communications, advocacy and surge response in a range of sectors including media, development, civil society, youth, human rights, humanitarian aid and health. Dr. O’Neil’s role was often as team leader, but also as team member or providing methodological support (e.g. in developing surveys, indicators, theories of change and evaluation frameworks) or quality control (review and approval of methodology, tools and reports).

Dr. O’Neil is also an experienced teacher, facilitator and trainer in media, communications, advocacy, evaluation methods and use for UN agencies, NGOs, universities and professional associations. He holds a PhD in social research and methodology from the London School of Economics and an Executive Masters in Communications Management.

Frédérique Tissandier
Director of Communications of the Hôpitaux Universitaires de Genève
 

Director of Communications for the Hôpitaux Universitaires de Genève since October 2020, Frédérique Tissandier is responsible for implementing the communication strategy and tools of the largest university hospital in Switzerland.

Leading five departments, she supervises the numerous publications of the HUG, including the magazine Pulsations and the HUG health channel broadcast on Youtube and Dailymotion. In charge of digital communications, internal and external communications, Public relations and Cultural affairs, Frédérique Tissandier uses her multidisciplinary background to promote the HUG both locally and internationally.

Prior to HUG, she was Head of Media Engagement, Country and Global of Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, an international public-private partnership that aims to improve the health of people in the world's poorest countries by helping to provide life-saving vaccines. She led the communication drive of the 2020 replenishment which successfully raised over US$ 8 billion to fund vaccination programmes in more than 73 countries.

In 2008, she joined the GAIN Foundation, the global alliance to fight malnutrition, as press officer and then became head of the Communications department. During these years, the foundation gained visibility by developing and implementing communication, advocacy and media relations strategies within the organisation.

Frédérique holds a Master's degree in English, information in the English-speaking world from the Sorbonne Nouvelle University in Paris. She started her career as a journalist and a presenter. After several short-terms assignments in foreign countries, she became deputy head of the business desk of Radio France Internationale (RFI).

A passionate photographer, Frédérique Tissandier is known for her work ethic, her sense of responsibility and her taste for teamwork.