Petra Bezjak Cirman: UKOM communicated successfully during the floods thanks to an excellent and experienced team
Petra Bezjak Cirman, Director of the Government Communication Office, was the guest speaker at a roundtable discussion on "The role of public relations in building societal resilience in the face of natural disasters". | Author Government Communication Office
When the first call came in the early hours of 4 August 2023, activating the National Plan, the staff of the Government Communication Office, as well as that of the Civil Protection Headquarters, responded immediately and was constantly involved in communicating government decisions. "We worked hard to inform the public in a timely and clear manner in the first phase, when people's lives were being saved, as well as to be responsive, to present accurate information and to have trusted spokespeople who act in a reassuring way," the Director of UKOM told the assembled guests at the Faculty of Social Sciences in Ljubljana.
Petra Bezjak Cirman explained at the roundtable "The role of public relations in strengthening society's resilience in the event of natural disasters", held by the Section for Communicators in the Public Sector of the Slovenian Society for Public Relations, that UKOM used all available channels in its communication: "We used both traditional communication channels such as press conferences, press releases, direct responses to journalists' questions, and guest appearances on various broadcasts, as well as modern channels such as social networks." The Government's social media profiles had remarkable reach during one of Slovenia's worst natural disasters in history. On the Government's Facebook profile, some infographics with informative and warning content reached over 100,000 users. "Using a variety of channels and our own video and graphic production allowed us to reach as many people as possible quickly and inform them properly about what to do in the situation. On the second day of the floods, 5 August, we also launched a dedicated website gov.si/poplave, where we kept both the domestic and foreign public up-to-date with the latest information and advice. The first month's statistics showed that the new page had 99,565 views," said Director Bezjak Cirman.
Among other things, the Director of UKOM also stressed the importance of communicating with the media during the catastrophic floods, especially with the two public services, namely Television Slovenia, which broadcast live press conferences daily on Channel 1 or 2, and the Slovenian Press Agency, which made their news available in English for all.
Finally, the round table participants highlighted the importance of the role of the Government’s public relations in crisis communication, reminding the audience that Government communicators need to regularly refresh their skills and that in every crisis there is also an opportunity to learn new lessons and improve our response.