Italy is a nation exposed to many natural hazards. Despite this, individual exposure can be significantly reduced through knowledge of the problems, awareness of the possible consequences and the adoption of some precautions. In order to promote knowledge and awareness, "I don't take risks" was born, now in its tenth edition. The event was held last October 11 and this year it was mainly held in a digital version. To find out more about the national campaign and find out how this 2020 edition went, we interviewed Romano Camassi, INGV seismologist at the Bologna office.
Romano, what kind of event is “I don't take risks”?
I don't risk is a communication campaign dedicated to the reduction of risk related to natural phenomena aimed at spreading good civil protection practices. is promoted by the Civil Protection Department, by the National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology - INGV, by the National Association of Public Assistance - Anpas, by ReLUIS-Interuniversity Consortium of Seismic Engineering Laboratories and by the CIMA Foundation, which deals with flood risk . Over time, other subjects have also contributed to the preparation of communication material and the implementation of the initiatives themselves. In particular, in the last four years there has also been an entry at the management and coordination level of the regions.
The fundamental element of the communication campaign is made up of the Civil Protection volunteer organizations who preside over the information points set up in the squares of Italian cities and towns, intercepting the population to provide them with information on natural hazards. These volunteers work in the local realities and therefore the communication work carried out does not end at the end of the campaign because they continue to work in that context also during the year.
What is the role of INGV within the “I don't take risks” campaign?
INGV is one of the founding partners of the campaign and has taken care, together with the other partners, of the conception and preparation of materials and communication strategies, general coordination and scientific consultancy on the issue of seismic risk and, more recently , also of the volcanic risk.
That of INGV is therefore a fundamental role of coordination, scientific contribution and monitoring of the progress of the campaign. To this end, a widespread network of colleagues from the various offices of the Institute, during the days, carries out tasks of observation and collection of information on the progress of the campaign.
What was the impact of Covid19 on the organization of the event?
This edition had distinctly different characteristics from the previous ones due to the ongoing health emergency which does not make possible the main feature of this communication activity, i.e. the presence in the square and direct contact with citizens. For this reason, the campaign has been transformed into digital, even if some physical squares have remained in strategic places where, however, close contact with the public and the delivery of information material are not foreseen.
How was the digital version of the campaign organised?
The digital campaign had the same characteristics as the "communication space" typical of traditional squares except that the interactions were digital and mediated by technological tools. Each association or group has created a Facebook event for 11 October starting from its own Facebook page (or that of its municipality to which it belongs). Even in the days prior to the tenth edition of "Io non Rischio" these pages were a space for dialogue with the citizen with the associations that posted promotional material of the campaign and videos. On the day of the event, the digital version of the material normally disseminated in the squares was published, such as timelines on seismic, volcanic, flood risk and information materials. Interviews and testimonies were presented and in order to facilitate the exchange of information with the public, dialogue rooms were opened, using common tools such as Zoom or Meet.
Finally, how did you find this virtual edition of the campaign? It has been successful?
I would say that despite the enormous difficulties we went through in the months of preparation, both in the full lockdown phase and in the very last month and a half with the increase in the spread of the infection, it went very well. We managed to create a dozen traditional training squares in some regional capitals and over 400 online events involving almost 400 municipalities and 600 voluntary associations with a few thousand volunteers who participated in this day and in its implementation. The preparation work was demanding because, especially in the last two weeks, the volunteers had to pick up all the communication material of the campaign and imagine how to return it in a usable format on the digital square. The staff of INGV and of the other partner associations carried out a monitoring of the squares collecting data for an overall evaluation: the impression we had is that this edition was a success, the events were interesting and very expressive methods were used originals. This digital experience has been stimulating and the experience gained this year will not be set aside when we return to the traditional street approach because the use of these tools will be able to support the communication work that will be done in future campaigns and throughout the course of the year in events that the associations can organize locally. One of the characteristics of the campaign is precisely that of not stopping at the annual national event but going on throughout the year, managed by associations that live locally and therefore meet their fellow citizens on a daily basis as part of their services.