Rappler, Philippine Red Cross ink tie-up on disaster preparedness

MANILA, Philippines – Rappler and the Philippine Red Cross (PRC) are partnering on a project to educate a wider audience about disaster preparedness and risk reduction by maximizing the internet, especially social media.

The two organizations signed a Memorandum of Agreement during the Agos Summit on Disaster Preparedness on Saturday, July 8, to “design and implement an online civic engagement campaign to share information and content for the public benefit.”

Rappler will share real-time updates on reports of infrastructure damage, rescue, and weather news from the public and volunteers before, during, and after the occurrence of a disaster. 

AGOS Summit 2017: Rappler partners with the Philippine Red Cross for AGOS Summit 2017. Watch live on https://t.co/qJPKiQHhp1 #ZeroCasualty pic.twitter.com/4y6ob2EnCU

— Rappler (@rapplerdotcom) July 8, 2017

The news organization will also train Red Cross staff and volunteers on how to use social media as a tool for advocacy and engagement. Rappler will also help disseminate information PRC’s initiatives through its website and social media channels.

Philippine Red Cross, on the other hand, will share relevant information to Rappler such as press releases, stories, maps, and statistics.

The PRC will also train Rappler staff on basic life support and first aid. The two organizations will also use the RapplerX platform for information dissemination and public engagement. 

Senator Richard Gordon, PRC chairman, urged the audience in his keynote speech on the second day of the summit to practice the “4Ps: predict, plan, prepare, practice.”

“You have to improvise. You need innovation. You need to organize ahead to predict the danger. You have to plan for the danger. You have to have manpower. You have to have the resources, the logistics. And you have to know to get it done,” said Gordon. 

During the summit, Rappler also relaunched its Agos powered by eBayanihan platform, its disaster information management platform, by introducing the new Agos dashboard which partners can access during times of disasters. – Rappler.com 

Danielle Nakpil is a BA Journalism graduate of the University of the Philippines Diliman. She is also a former intern for Rappler’s MovePH.