BNPB: Journalists Have an Important Role in Raising Public Awareness about Disaster Mitigation and Preparedness

Jakarta, MINA – Deputy for Prevention of the National Disaster Management Agency (BNPB) Dra. Prasinta Dewi, M.A.P., said that journalists have an important role in increasing public awareness about disaster mitigation and preparedness.

According to her, through continuous reporting, journalists can educate the public about steps that can be taken to reduce disaster risk and increase public awareness.

“You can help disseminate information about early warning, evacuation plans, preventive measures, and best practices in disaster management,” said Prasinta when opening the Tangguh Disaster Journalist Training “Survival on Disaster” at the Paint Ball Arena, Eco Park, Taman Impian Jaya Ancol, North Jakarta on Friday.

In this way, she continued, indirectly, journalists contribute to building public awareness to become more resilient to disaster threats.

“Continuous efforts to increase understanding and expertise in dealing with disasters will ensure that journalists can provide meaningful coverage and have a positive impact on affected communities,” sphe concluded.

The activity, which was held by the Indonesian humanitarian and disaster management agency CARE for three days on Friday-Sunday, June 23-25, was attended by 47 journalists from national and regional media.

Three journalists from the MINA News Agency, Abdullah, Nurhadis, and Rana Setiawan were participants in the training.

Apart from that, this training was also attended by journalists from Radio Silaturahim, Bashirah News, the STAI Al-Fatah Cileungsi campus press agency, and the Indonesian Muslim Journalists Brotherhood (PJMI).

In his remarks, the Executive Director of Indonesia CARE, Lukman Azis Kurniawan, said that the “Survival on Disaster for Journalists” training, which was held for the first time, was designed to provide the knowledge and skills needed to carry out a journalist’s job well in a disaster area.

“This training aims to increase the capacity of journalists in understanding disaster risk management and reduction,” he said.

Lukman hopes that the participants will benefit greatly from the training sessions presented by resource persons, practitioners and trainers who are experienced in their fields.

In this training, Indonesia CARE collaborated with the National Disaster Management Agency (BNPB), the National Search and Rescue Agency (Basarnas), the Indonesian Disaster Management Squad (PBI), Tagana DKI Jakarta, Imani CARE, and Human Initiative.

In addition, the training collaborated with the business world, namely PT Prasadha Pamunah Waste Industry (PPLI), Eiger and Taman Impian Jaya Ancol. (T/RE1/P2)

Mi’raj News Agency (MINA)