The participants of the information session of the municipalities of Kirovohrad and Kyiv regions learned about information security, public outreach tools and means and best practices from their colleagues.
“In addition to hostilities and missile terror, the enemy exerts informational and psychological pressure on Ukrainians. Residents of villages and small towns have to be able to recognise manipulations and fakes and receive verified information and advice in a timely manner. And in rural areas, people often go to their starosta for advice. During the event, experts provided guidance for working with information and raising public awareness using various means of communication,” said U-LEAD expert Oleh Yaremenko.
The experts reminded the participants about the possibilities of public outreach through public meetings and hearings. They also explained the specifics of conducting these events under martial law.
With the beginning of the full-scale invasion of the Russian Federation, many municipalities decided to remove critical information from official websites, and some resources were closed altogether. Facebook pages, chatbots or Viber groups, as well as Telegram channels, became an alternative for public communication.
“It is important that both local residents and people coming to your municipality know the basic contacts. For example, you can compile a list of telephone numbers that can be contacted by internally displaced persons for assistance or advice as well as by residents in case of emergencies. Another option is hotline phones and landline phone numbers that can work if there is no mobile connection,” said Oksana Hunenkova, Adviser on Local Self-Government and Decentralisation of the Regional Office of U-LEAD with Europe in the Odesa region.
Hunenkova also stressed the importance of having a radio receiver and some batteries for it in case of an emergency.
According to the expert, it is necessary to know which communication tools are relevant for residents. For example, surveys showed that most people use Viber, follow Facebook pages and read news in Telegram. It is also necessary to keep in mind that some residents do not use such tools at all and to find ways to inform them.
In order to provide high-quality services and properly inform residents, starostas themselves need to receive information from verified, official sources that can be trusted. Therefore, the experts reminded the basic rules of information hygiene:
- Doubt: never jump to conclusions, read the news carefully before sharing them.
- Check your information: if the information is reported by only one source and you have not personally witnessed it, it is not reliable information.
- Find the primary source: follow which source the news refers to and who the source refers to;
- Read serious publications and articles: do not read tabloids, avoid clickbaits;
- Check the author;
- Read wellknown media outlets that care about their reputation and audience;
- Try to find out whose interests the publication lobbies to be able to notice manipulation or distortion of facts in someone’s favour.
In addition, the experts presented the participants with the functionality of the information resource Diia, which can be a very valuable and useful tool in the work of a starosta.
“According to the residents of the municipality, in addition to the powers prescribed in Article 54 with Note 1, a starosta should know and be able to do almost anything. People go to them for advice, help and consultation. I believe that the Diia portal is a great help in the work of a starosta. There is a lot of information here that will help you apply for funding for IDPs’ businesses and IDP certificates, get support in case of destruction of housing and property and more. That is why I recommend starostas to master this resource and use it in their work,” said Victoriia Trotsenko, Adviser on Local Self-Government and Decentralisation of the Regional Office U-LEAD with Europe in the Dnipropetrovsk region.