Calogero Foti, engineer, was born in Agrigento in 1955. Since 2001 he has been involved in the Civil Protection of the Sicily Region. Since 2013 he has been General Manager of the Civil Protection Department of the Presidency of the Sicilian Region.
What does it mean to communicate in an emergency and what are the methods of information and communication in difficult moments?
The civil protection system is structured on the model of a network of public administrations informed by the principles of subsidiarity and adequacy, it has a composite nature and its powers are often characterized by transversality and procedural complexity; for this reason, the effectiveness and efficiency of its functioning are entrusted to the individual components according to their respective institutional competences, enhancing the professionalism and knowledge of the subjects involved. At the basis of our "system" is the Mayor who is also responsible for informing his fellow citizens. In fact, the Mayor knows the criticalities of his own territory, he is aware of the needs and specificities of the population, he manages the emergency plan. However, the same must be supported by the entire system in all its needs in order to guarantee an adequate response.
Emergency communication, therefore, mainly pertains to the municipal administrations, the dissemination of meteorological-hydrogeological and hydraulic warnings remaining as a priority activity, the coordination of actions on a regional basis through the Operations Room which operates on the GECoS platform, with a preventive function, training at all levels and coordination of voluntary civil protection organisations.
It goes without saying that emergency communication cannot be separated from the use of channels social with respect to which the DRPC Sicily assumes the role of providing guidelines, and shared procedures by coordinating the entire system and supporting the mayors in managing the communication activity.
It is precisely for this reason that the DRPC Sicily adheres to the national #SocialProCiv Manifesto which is responsible for defining guidelines, procedures and in the use of social media in the field of civil protection, also sharing good communication practices.
Technical notions, a lot of craft but above all personal sensitivity. Director, which side of your character is most involved in the job you do every day?
A civil protection operator is distinguished not only by the technical skills he possesses, which make him lucid and precious on the scene of an emergency situation, but also by the passion and heart he puts into the activity he carries out; he is the one who is closest to those who suffer and who manages to return a smile and the strength to start over to those who, sometimes, in an instant have lost everything: affections and things. Hierarchies do not count in the field but the ability of those who can give precise indications on what must be done is recognized because it is on those provisions that sometimes even the protection of operators depends. For me, however, the emotional aspect and solidarity with others is the driving force that manages to overcome tiredness and encourages me to give more and more by involving myself totally. During the management of calamitous events, life-changing emotions are experienced, ties are established that will never be erased, deep friendships are established that time cannot erase. Cold blood, therefore, professionalism and empathy: this is the right mix to do my job well.
Communication for prevention. If on the one hand we recognize the Italians' solidarity in times of emergency, on the other it seems difficult to get used to prevention. What are the topics that deserve more effort to avoid disasters?
Through the Legislative Decree n.1 of 2 January 2018 on Civil Protection Code has indicated as civil protection activities those aimed at predicting, preventing and mitigating risks, managing emergencies and overcoming them. The art. 2, in particular, considered as non-structural prevention activities those concerning, among others: f) information to the population on risk scenarios and the relative rules of conduct as well as on civil protection planning thus attributing a very significant role to information as a risk reduction tool.
Despite the fact that our territory has numerous fragilities, a culture of prevention is still lacking today. We must invest in school-age training and information to be able to convey correct behaviors and lifestyles to adopt. Knowing the risk you run into if you leave waste on river beds, if you build in a landslide area or in the bed of a stream, knowing what behavior to adopt in the event of a tsunami, earthquake or adverse weather events, can make the difference. "Knowing" does not eliminate the risk but in the event of natural disasters it contributes significantly to limiting the loss of human lives. As for the more sensitive matters to be explored, it cannot escape that greater attention to territorial planning and the inhibition of building in areas at particular risk would lead to greater and better prevention with a consequent reduction of the economic resources to be allocated to emergencies to divert them into useful investments to the productive growth of communities. The activity of the DRPC Sicily is oriented in this direction, which has just launched the regional micro-zoning plan thanks to which there will be a complete mapping of the response times of the territories to seismic stresses; this stands out as an indispensable tool in territorial planning.
What contribution usually comes from the journalistic world? The news tells the stories of the people involved in the disasters in great detail, but rarely dwells on the preventive measures. What is the general approach of journalists to scientific topics unrelated to news events in the light of your experience as Director of the Civil Protection of Sicily?
The innovative and conditioning element in communication today is the growing and essential use of social media which represent the most immediate, flexible and dynamic communication tool through which to convey information, especially in emergency situations. It does not escape the reader, in fact, that the speed with which communication takes place through the smartphone, the ease of reaching the end user, the high rate of interactivity and the ability to make a message viral through simple sharing today represent the real communicative novelty that becomes added value in the field of civil protection. This is why the attention that the civil protection system attributes to communication is ever greater social. As far as communication operators are concerned, it is necessary to act better and more in terms of training so that the understanding and approach to emergency phenomena is correct, not alarmist and above all that there is awareness that everyone must do their part in the work of education and public awareness of prevention. Precisely for this reason, starting from the month of February, the Department - in collaboration with the Order of Journalists of Sicily - will launch "Knowledge in emergency", a cycle of training meetings aimed at making communication operators better aware of how the system works regional level of civil protection and what role communication has in building a civic awareness.
Science and technologies that help predict catastrophic phenomena and, as far as possible, reduce their effects, have developed indispensable resources for those who have to deal with the protection of life and property of all: a growth that sees Italy among the most advanced countries. Our area represents for researchers one of the best gyms in the world. Italy is a beautiful country, but equally fragile. There are 4.618 Italian Municipalities located in seismic areas, over 3 those where the risk is high; moreover it should not be forgotten that over 2 million Italians from the southern regions of Italy live near active volcanoes. Do you think that the younger generations have more or less sensitivity than in the past on the issues of prevention, emergency and voluntary work linked to natural disasters?
Young people are sincerely more receptive and attentive to environmental issues than we have been. Nonetheless, a lot of work needs to be done so that the propensity for incorrect behavior adopted over many years of superficial government of the territory is transformed into a new awareness that modifies the approach in terms of planning and good use of resources. Sensitivity, however, has grown and I am confident that the new generations have understood that nature is a precious resource that must be preserved and protected.
For INGV the theme of prevention is substantial. Using every minute of predictability of phenomena would sometimes save lives. In your opinion, Director, are there any further communication solutions that can increase the effectiveness of the much information that INGV already disseminates?
In my opinion we need to work even more on the possibility of reaching each citizen individually. From July 2020, for example, I-Alert will be active, a technological warning platform that will be used by the National Department of Civil Protection to notify every citizen - through a "beep" on their mobile phone - of the emergency affecting the area in which they finds. This system makes use of the connection through the detection of the telephone cells.
As far as we are concerned, this summer, during the Stromboli eruptive crisis, we verified how direct communication works in a territorially limited context. Our experience has been limited to the activation of a specific channel Telegram through which targeted and continuous information was provided on the civil protection activities activated on the island. We have been able to detect how this system has made it possible to provide maximum assistance, has reduced stress and has proved to be a tool for socializing virtuous behavioral models. This seems to us to be the right way.
And the Department is moving in this direction. The establishment of a "Communication" office within the DRPC Sicily, as part of the overall revision of the regional offices, is the new element desired by the regional government which will characterize the new phase of external relations of the Department.