EPC Communication and Visibility Plan

Objectives:
The communication and visibility plan aims at creating awareness among local communities,
implementing partners, donors, the media and elected representatives about ERRY's impact on the
ground, as well as ensuring the visibility of the donor`s contribution to the wellbeing of the people of.

In view of this and as per the general conditions of the grant, the process of developing a coherent,
dynamic and comprehensive communication and visibility strategy specially designed to cater to STT
program particular has to be initiated, with the Joint Visibility Guidelines for EPC/EU actions in the field
as well as communication and visibility manual for European Union External Actions 2010 being used as
the guiding documents.

The specific objectives of the proposed communication and visibility strategy are to:

• Promote and communicate the results of the programme

• Promote the cooperation of Government-UN-EU and national/local partners to deliver on the
project goals
• Ensure visibility of EU's support to the programme

Target Groups:
Primary: General public, government officials, donors, implementing partners, target communities,
audiences in the EU

Secondary: Print media, electronic media, columnists, feature writers, bloggers, and documentary
makers, academia, civil society.

Media context:
Yemen has a relatively open and vibrant media environment, mirroring the country's political pluralism.
The television and radio sector is expanding with an increasing number of channels and stations.
Although overall outreach and professionalism can be improved, the country's media scene witnessed
positive change with an increase in social media activists since 2011, especially women, Female bloggers
and activists have taken advantage of online accessibility to participate in the public discourse. Another
positive development is a visible improvement in the quality of state-run media, especially newspapers
since 2011. Changes at the Ministry of Information and also new leadership of many state-run
newspapers have outlined this improvement. With regard to the film industry, Yemen's media is taking
an interesting new stance. In the last three years, Yemeni activists have filmed the 2011 uprising and
other aspects of today's Yemen to create short documentaries

Due to unstable electrical supplies, high cost, and low computer literacy, Yemen has among the lowest
rates of internet use in the Middle East. There are currently over 600,000 Facebook users in Yemen -- a
population penetration significantly less than 10% -- but with the largest number of users among those
age 18 to 24, followed by users between age 25 and 34. Approximately 78% of users are male and 22%
female, and nearly all reside in Yemen's larger cities. Yemen's internet users reached 23% in 2014, from
1% in 2006, according to the World Bank. i
Yemen is currently at war. Therefore there is a need to ensure that there is a possibility of aid being
halted in the middle of implementation in which case a strategy on communicating this in such a
scenario needs to be developed. The community should be resilient to face the consequences of EU
suspending their programme and should understand the consequences leading to it without any ill
feelings towards the EU and its partners.

Objective of the Action:

The overall objective of ERRY (the "Action") is to enhance the self-reliance of rural people and
communities to better cope with crises, risks and shocks, The project will be implemented for a period of
three years and is expected to be launched immediately after the signing of the agreement with the EŲ
and pre-financing received. The project will be implemented in four governorates: Hajjah, Hodeidah,
Lahj and Abyan. This overall objective will be achieved through a complementary approach building on
participating agencies' comparative advantages through the following two outcomes:

• Outcome 1: Communities are better able to manage local risks and shocks for increased
economic self-reliance and enhanced social cohesion.
• Outcome 2: Institutions are responsive, accountable and effective to deliver services, build the
social contract and meet community identified needs

Communication tools:
A holistic communication approach will be used to communicate project activities and interventions to
the various stakeholders of the project. Due to low literacy rates in Yemen, television and radio, which
are the main communication channels in the targeted locations, will be utilized to cover project events
and advocate for its results activities and interventions through interviews, talks shows, etc.

Print media is mainly read in the main cities only. Thus, it will be used to advocate for the joint
programme among government officials and urban populations. Other communication tools such as
meetings and workshops will be approached for increased advocacy and outreach to rural populations,
to foster consultative endeavours for each joint programme milestone. All products will be developed
jointly in Arabic and English to ensure for the widest outreach and understanding,

Guiding Principles:
Some of the guiding principles of the proposed communication and visibility strategy are as follows:

Multidimensional: The outcomes and impact of the programme needs to be shared with a wide range of
stakeholders, from policymakers to concerned government officials and from donors and implementing
partners to beneficiary communities. Considering this, a multidimensional approach will be employed,
catering to the specific needs of the target groups.

Collaborative: Views of all the stakeholders will be accommodated before finalizing the strategy to solicit
maximum support from them in the future, thus a participatory approach will be used. Collaboration is
also important since one of the core objectives of the strategy is to highlight ERRY as an example of
successful collaboration among donor agencies, implementing partners, the government and local
communities. Synergies will be identified in communication and visibility with other EU funded projects
that are currently being implemented by UN Agencies that address similar issues; overlaps should be
avoided. Coordination of communication and visibility should take place with the European Commission.
Coordination: The communication and visibility of the joint programme will be spearheaded by the
Communications Specialist of the Joint Coordination Unit (Sana'a), liaising with the sub-national joint
coordination units in Hodeidah and Aden, and respective focal points in the participating UN agencies.
While individual UN agencies will have Communications Officer, there will be a need to ensure that
work-flow, branding and products are aligned with the overall joint programme communication and
visibility strategy thus will be the responsibility of the Joint Communications Specialist (international
staff).

Innovative: Considering the wide range of activities implemented under the project and its
multistakeholder nature, all communication activities needs to be specific, need-based and timely. For
example, illustrated thematic handbooks (with pictures and a single line captions) can be produced for
illiterate beneficiaries of the programme.

Sustainable: The focus will be on documenting those interventions and strategies that bring about a real
change in the lives of the people, so that they could be replicated in future by the same donors,
implementing partners and communities, as well as others. Activities undertaken following the strategy
will make it easier to seek financial support for similar activities in future, thus ensuring their continuity
and sustainability.

Iterative: In today's fast-changing environment, remaining flexible and adapting to any unforeseen
challenges is important. Though the proposed strategy will suggest a core set of activities and
subactivities, there will be room for change and adaptation especially keeping in mind cultural and
political sensitivities.

Gender-Sensitive: The proposed strategy will use a gender perspective and apply a gender lens to all
materials developed under the programme, as well as the language used in communication. Also,
cultural sensitivities will be kept in mind while designing different messages. Moreover, women
journalists will be targeted as they can more easily interview and meet with women beneficiaries.

Insightful: The failures of the programme need to be analyzed as much as its successes, so that future
interventions could be accordingly planned. Along with documenting best practices, case studies will
also take into account those interventions that did not fetch the desired results. However, where
possible, the focus would be on highlighting how the challenge was met through adopting some
innovative strategy. Also, before the end of the programme, documents on lessons learnt and the way
forward will be published.

Social inclusion: The strategy will be concentrated on projecting how the excluded citizens needs are
being addressed by preparing specific publications that show case how their lives have improved. The
focus will be to show that the programme is taking particular attention of the marginalized groups and
this will help show case how the resilience based approach reaches out to all.

Outline of Communications and Visibility milestones:

All Communications and Visibility milestones will be overseen by the Joint Communications Specialist,
under the overall responsibility of the Joint Programme Manager.
Media events:
Audience: Print media, electronic media, columnists, feature writers, bloggers, and documentary
Maker’s

Specific objective: To raise awareness of the programme's objectives, donors (EU) role and implication,
and what results it is achieving.

Indicative activities:

1. For the signing of the cost sharing agreement and the launch of the project, a press briefing
breakfast or lunch will be arranged at the governorate level to provide an
introduction/orientation of ERRY;
2. Coverage of ERRY actions and activities ensured in the mainstream and local media, both print
and electronic;
3. Field visits and briefings for senior journalists arranged;
4. Human interest stories written and packages developed by journalists based on visit to ERRY
project sites and meetings with its beneficiaries;
5. ERRY promoted on social networking and professional websites such as Facebook, Twitter, etc.;
6. Documentaries produced on lessons learnt and major achievements of the programme to be
aired internationally and nationally; and
7. Awareness programmes prepared and aired on radio channels;
8. Mailing list of journalists prepared for regular sharing of project information and publications.
9. EU, UNDP and its partners brand ambassadors will be introduced to the media so they may
assist with sharing the messages of the programme so they can easily be understood and be
reached to the target audience.
10. Regular media monitoring update which will be sent to the EU on a monthly basis.

Indicators:

1. Positive and % increase in the coverage of ERRY's launch and during the implementation of the
project
2. Documentary aired on electronic media and discussion on talk shows initiated. 3. 5 journalists
visit project site on an annual basis and mention it in articles talk shows etc.

ERRY Branding:
Audience: General public, government officials, donors, media, target communities

Objective: To allow the public to relate to the specific logo as bringing a certain message of resilience to
the people. Advocate for the practical value of the resilience approach that will benefit the people of
Yemen.

Indicative activities:

1. Logo of ERRY designed with EU reference and its separate identity established, according to the
EU visibility rules;
 2. Stationery (posters, notebooks, ball points, lead pencils, bags, etc.) and promotional material
(calendars, diaries, T-shirts, etc.) with ERRY logo printed and made available to targeted
communities.
3. Signboards with ERRY logo prepared and installed at important points in target areas and
completed community projects; and
4. Television, radio and newspaper advertisements/public messages prepared and aired.
5. EU and UN Day will also be celebrated and special coverage will be given to the project in the
speeches of the concerned dignitaries which would receive media coverage and help further
enhance the image of the EU in the country,
6. UNDP Yemen website and other participating agencies as applicable will carry out special
features on the project twice a month and also regularly feature stories showing progress.
7. Educational school visits will be arranged to allow children in the local community to know what
the project is doing so they may be able to replicate the strategy in future.

Indicators;

1. UNDP website and other participating agencies as applicable have regular features on the
project and the number of viewers of the websites/social media increased.
2. Public messages aired and increase the level of awareness on livelihoods opportunities

Communications and knowledge Products:

Audience: General public, government officials, donors, implementing partners, media, target
communities, audiences in the EU

Objective: To raise awareness about the UN and EU partnership on knowledge generation leading to
policy level changes.

Indicative activities:

3. Case studies in both English and Arabic prepared, printed and disseminated;
4. Social impact studies of ERRY projects conducted, printed and disseminated;
5. Thematic studies on crosscutting issues such as gender, poverty, peace and conflict resolution,
etc., prepared, printed and disseminated;
6. Illustrated Handbooks for trainings in English and Arabic languages developed, printed and
disseminated;
7. Documents on lessons learnt and the way ahead developed and shared with selected
audiences;
8. . Research areas identified and studies conducted around them; and
9. Brochures and flyers on achievements of the programme and its major beneficiaries developed,
printed and disseminated.
10. Story telling for the European Year for Development 2015
11. Support by the EU will be highlighted in regular aggregated or bilateral reports including those
to be submitted to the Steering Committee that will include high-level representatives to be
aware of ERRY achievements. EU visibility rules will be respected for all publications, media or
other public interaction, events, etc
Indicators:

1. 5 publications shared with stakeholders

2. Contribution made for the story telling.

Community Consultations

Audience: Target and beneficiary communities, government, donors, implementing partners, media
Objective: To raise awareness of the EU and UN partnership work together on resilience.

Indicative activities:

1. Community needs identified and strategy devised on how to best address these.
2. Links established between communities and sub-national authorities through workshops, and
field visits.
3. Towards the end of the project a final workshop in the governorates and in Sana'a will be held
to present outputs and the resilience legacy of the project and final communication materials
prepared including lessons learned to representatives of the Government, media and donor
community.

Indicators:

1. Number of joint field visits with local authorities

2. Number of community Outreach events

Human Resources:
High-quality and cost-effective visibility actions will be ensured by a dedicated Communications
Specialist, providing the following contributions:

(i) advisory support relating to communications and visibility work plans, budgets, reports and
evaluations
(ii) technical support for the implementation of agreed ERRY-specific visibility actions, and
(iii) Access to Communication Division's production facilities or partner agencies and (media)
network,

Financial Resources:
The Communications Specialist will be supported in his/her task with a dedicated budget that will be
determined during the inception phase and the development of a Joint Communications and Visibility
action plan. A preliminary estimated budget for communications and visibility is USD 40,000 over the
three years of the Action's duration.

Examples of key messages:

For community-based resilience building:

• Communities have strengths and assets to help themselves.

• Communities have a voice and can make a difference.
• Communities united with local authorities are a strong force for change.
• Communities need all of its members and are only strong when united!
 • Communities that work together thrive!
• Together we can make a difference!

For solar energy promotion:

• Solar energy is easy to manage, clean and safe for the home and community.
• Solar energy doesn't need diesel - sunpower is free.
• Solar energy will help rural areas to catch up with the city.
• Rural solar energy means better basic services
• Solar energy means farmers will have reliable irrigation. Solar energy is an investment for a
brighter future

For youth including women:

Sustainable employment and incomes for tomorrow

• Youth are engine of success growth

• Empowered youth; engine of growth catalyzers
• Women's economic stabilization will lead to revitalize the national economy
• Youth employment generation, a pathway to stabilization and development
• We develop skills and businesses to sustain youth livelihood and future

Skills for the future!

• My skills, my future
• Skillful youth means energized economy
• Women's economic empowerment guarantees sustainable economic growth
• New ideas for a new way of living!
• Yemen relies on youth to for new solutions and innovative ideas
• Youth can turn challenges into great opportunities.

Messages of Hope

• Youth are the coming staunch entrepreneurs.

• Youth serves as the hope business of the country
• Women always prove that they are examples of resilience; they transform hardships into
success stories

For the Government:

• Yemeni government is committed to prioritize the employment of youth as the guarantee of the
future of the country
• Youth employment can ensure successful transition for the country's current critical situations
• Yemen needs new ideas and new solutions, therefore innovation in business can meet these
urgencies
• The Yemeni government has made successful steps to respond to the youth's valid calls of
economic empowerment.
 • Inclusion of youth in national policies and the country's priorities will lead stability of the
country in all levels.

General ERRY messages:

Audience Messages

To national and local • The EU is supporting resilience-building in Yemen - helping

government counterparts: people to cope, recover and be stronger in the future.
• Government and Yemeni people are included in the
planning and implementation of the project.
• Best results are achieved when government, civil society
and UN agencies work together towards common goals in a
focused way.
• Holistic approaches are more effective than isolated
unilateral approaches.
• The EU and UN are working with Yemeni people to support
sustainable development.

To communities and the civil • The EU and its partners work in an inclusive consultative
society: way.
• The EU and its partners respect Yemeni people and
appreciates their strengths and capacities as a strong
foundation for working together towards development.
• Vulnerable and minority groups (including women, youth,
IDPs and marginalized groups) are welcomed, listened to
and supported.

To global development • Joint Programming and targeted area based livelihoods

partners (UN, INGOs and approaches, have added value and promote an impact
donors) multiplier effect.
• The resilience 'philosophy' can be effectively implemented
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