Communication

Dear members,

welcome on the communications page, aimed to inform you on EAPN Europe’s communications work.

Update your National Network page!

Each National Network has its own page on our website. Please check it regularly to make sure the info is up-to-date.

You can also send information to disseminate your campaigns and key publications. Your publications would therefore have a double visibility on the website and on the Flash newsletter.

In 2012 the Communications Strategy was approved by the EXCO in April and the Communications Task Force finalised its proposal of the Communications Work Programme, presented at the EXCO Subgroup on Communications in November.

Useful Tools

• List of People in charge of communications work in each national network – (This list still needs updating with a few other networks and EOs)

• Media guide for networks: Working with the Media, Hints and Tips – this document puts together a list of tips that aim at helping you approaching the media, writing a press release, setting up a press conference. Download the guide.

• Guide for EAPN’s photo albums on Picasa website: EAPN’s pictures, that we use notably for publications, are visible online on, currently, 2 albums : http://picasaweb.google.com/EAPNpictures and http://picasaweb.google.com/EAPNpictures2.
  To know how to view, but also download and use these pictures, Download the guide.

• Convert a word document to PDF with active hyperlinks: basic PDF makers do not allow for active hyperlinks, i.e. you can’t click on the links once the word document has been converted to a PDF. This website: http://www.doc2pdf.net/fr/#convert allows you to do so. click on “convertir ce document” (the big blue arrow), upload the word document “browse”, choose your document, then click on “document de converti” and you get your pdf with active links!

• Social Media:
  • Follow EAPN on Facebook – on Twitter
  • All our videos onYoutube, clich here: EAPNEurope – as well as on Vimeo
  • Tutorial on how to use Twitter

 

State of Play on EAPN’s Communications Work

• State of Play on EAPN’s Communications Work – Steps and meetings
• State of Play on EAPN’s Communications Work – Build on the Strategic Plan
• State of Play on EAPN’s Communications Work – Build a communications strategy

 

State of Play – Steps and meetings

• December 2013 – Training on Information and Communications Technologies and social media for social NGOs and How to get heard in the media, 12-13 Dec. Leuven.

• EAPN’s General Assembly also included a workshop on communications and social media, with a presentation by MAPP (EAPN Macedonia) on their work and use of social media, as well as a presentation by Nellie Epinat, on EAPN’s communications work and use of social media.
  • See the minutes of the workshop here, which include:
    • MAPP’s presentation
    • EAPN’s presentation

For all documents related to the meetings below without hyperlinks (agenda, minutes, persentations) please ask EAPN Europe Staff.

• March 2013 – Executive Committee in Brussels: 3rd meeting of the EXCO Subgroup on Communications. Following the decisions made at the previous meeting, a proposal was sent by EAPN’s Secretariat and discussed in the meeting in March on a training on ICTs for EAPN members and on the evaluation of EAPN’s external communications tools.
  • Minutes and proposal by EAPN’s Secretariat
  • latest version of the work programme 2012-2014

• November 2012 – Executive Committee in Athens: 2nd meeting of the EXCO Subgroup on Communications. Following the proposed work programme, EXCO and EUIS Group are also specifically asked to reflect, discuss and liaise on objectives of the communications strategy 1.1, 1.3 and 2.1 (see document Division of tasks – Assignment of responsibilities). Several specific tasks for the EXCO subgroupwhich, for the next meeting, will work on 2 of them: evaluation of external tools and how to organise a capacity-building session onworking with social media and how to talk to the media.
  • Minutes and next steps

• October 2012 – Task Force on Communications in Brussels finalised the Communications Work Programme which will be discussed by EXCO Subgroup on Communications and presented to the whole EXCO (Nov 2012).
  • Draft Communications Work Programme
  • Division of tasks – Assignment of responsibilities

• April 2012 – Executive Committee in Brussels: 1st meeting of the EXCO Subgroup on Communications and adopting the Communications Strategy. This was the very first meeting of all EXCO Subgroups. The Subgroup on communications decided that 1) the task force, meeting for the last time in Oct 2012, will finish off the work on the work programme, i.e. finalising actions and propose timeframe and responsibilities, present it in the Sept 2012 EXCO, after which they will finalise the work programme. 2) The subgroup will follow up on the work carried out by the taskforce and will take ownership of EAPN’s communications work.
  • PPT presentation in 3 short parts: 1° Process of building EAPN’s communications strategy, 2° key points (methodology and tools) of the first draft of the work programme, 3° for the first meeting of the EXCO Subgroup on Communications, with Terms of Reference of the Subgroup
  • 1st draft of the work programme (only actions, no timeline yet)
  • EAPN’s communication strategy

• March 2012 – Communications Task Force meeting in Brussels: finalising the communications strategy and starting action planning / work packages
  • Minutes
  • Agenda
  • Updated communications strategy (March 2012) taking into account Nov 2011 EXCO discussion.
  • Brainstorming meeting with Secretariat on communications objectives and actions (08.03.2012)

• November 2011 – Executive Committee in Tallinn, Estonia. The Communications Working Group presented its work on EAPN’s communications strategy.
  • See here framework communications strategy as presented to the exco.
  • Telling Our Story, presentation by Peter Kelly, from EAPN UK and member of the communications Working Group,on the WG’s work and content of the framework communications strategy proposed.

• October 2011 – EAPN’s Working Group on Communications 2nd meeting in Warsaw, in EAPN Poland’s offices. This meeting will prepare for the EXCO meeting in Tallin in November, where half a day will be devoted to the Comms strategy. We will continue working on the communications-strategy framework so as to present a full framework to be discussed with EXCO members. The session should also allow for some space for information to new members and clarification for all in a open debate.
  • Minutes of the meeting
  • Framework communications strategy (updated – November 2011, following working group meeting in Warsaw)
  • Correspondance of Strategic Objectives and Communications Objectives

• June 2011 – EAPN’s 2011 General Assembly in Lisbon, workshop on communication gave a short update on communications work towards a communications strategy and presented the work of the Communications’ Working Group
  • proposed communications-strategy framework (including Goals and corrresponding Objectives)
  • Minutes of the meeting
  • Framework proposed for the communications strategy

• April 2011 – 1st Meeting of the Communications’ Working Group
  • Minutes of the meeting
  • Summary of results of the Communications Questionnaire to all networks – answered by 21 national networks, (no European Organisation).
  • Summary of comments of the Communications Questionnaire – Background content for the Comms Strategy (Word document, 1st draft – to be updated after 1st meeting of CWG)

• June 2010 – EAPN’s 2010 General Assembly in Cyprus, workshop on communication exposed the state of play on EAPN’s work on communications, enabled for a discussion and made concrete proposals for next steps towards the building of EAPN’s communications strategy.
  • PPT presentation given at the workshop on communication
  • Minutes of the workshop

• February 2011 – EXCO meeting, 05 February 2011: update was given on communications work in 2010 and proposal presented for the 3 meetings foreseen on EAPN’s 2011 work programme.
  • Presentation given at EXCO 05 Feb 2011 here
  • Compilation of members’ requests on communications issues, Feb 2011

 

State of Play – build on the Strategic Plan

• The strategic plan aims at giving a coherent common identity, common goals and objectives for EAPN in order to reinforce the effectiveness of the work of EAPN.
• The communications strategy of EAPN needs to be in line with the strategic plan.
• Current state of play:
  • Following Strategic Plan 2012-2015, as the next Strategic Plan was not approved at the GA in 2015, the communications strategy remains that of 2012-2015.
  • Process of Evaluation (2009-2011), that feeds into the next strategic plan. This evaluation process also includes the question of how well EAPN is communicating, internally and externally

 

State of Play – Building a Communications strategy

What is a communications strategy?

It is a set of common tools and practices that:

• articulates, explains and promotes a vision and a set of well-defined goals.
• creates a consistent, unified “voice” that links diverse activities and goals in a way that appeals to your partners or stakeholders.

A communications strategy should answer the following questions:

• Who am I speaking to?
• How?
• For what reason?
• What is the take away message?
• Delivered through which channels?
• How do we measure the effects (positive/negative) of how and what we communicate?

 CRsA