Part 2 - Oneocean.org

In the beginning, national level awareness laggedbehind local level awareness in terms of marine and coastalproblems, so our immediate objective was to “create abuzz” around marine and coastal issues and engage thegeneral public to help transform perception of these issuesinto urgent problems requiring national attention andsolutions. Given this, our agenda-setting strategy at thenational level included the extensive use of mass media,conduct of special events and promotional activities,partnerships with strategic institutions/organizations toserve as “multipliers” and “pressure points” for CRM,and the inclusion of the general public as a broad base ofsupport for CRM initiatives.For maximum impact and media framing, we timedour promotional activities to coincide with international,national or local events such as the 1998 InternationalYear of the Ocean, International Coastal Cleanup Day,Month of the Ocean, World Food Day, Fisheries Week,etc. These activities were optimized for their mediadrawingpotential and public participation values. Effortswere made, however, to converge national with local levelactivities to allow the interaction of national leaders withlocal leaders, and national media with local experiences.A rule of the thumb was the aggressive solicitation ofmass media coverage and business sector support. Whilepartnerships were strategic, we also emphasized IECactivities that were inclusive in nature, so that anyone andeveryone who wanted to be involved were encouragedand accepted.By cultivating alliances with the mass media, weensured that the ventilation of marine and coastal issuesand problems contributed significantly to the promotionof CRM on the national agenda. Our IEC activities wereplanned for their media and public participation values.In this respect, 1998, the International Year of the Ocean,was particularly fruitful for us. That year, we mounted atraveling exhibit called “Our Seas, Our Life,” whichproved valuable not just for itself but also for its mediadrawing power. During its provincial tour, the exhibitprovided opportunities for the convergence of nationaland local press conferences as well as media invitationalvisits to CRMP Learning Areas. Such events served astake-off points for a proactive media program involvingTV and radio show appearances and print mediainterviews. Radio-TV plugs—some jointly produced byCRMP and major broadcasting networks, others initiatedby the media outfits themselves—were aired for theduration of these special events.Media coverage was not limited to the environmentalor agricultural pages of news-papers. To allow for a morein-depth treatment of stories, we targeted the lifestyle/tourism sections of the country’s major dailies. Mediainvitational tours to CRMP Learning Areas provided goodmaterial for such articles. In addition, CRMP was a mostwilling resource center for media inquiries and facilitationof media visits to other CRM sites. Our website, http://www.oneocean.org, also served as a good source of mediamaterial for stories on CRM.We targeted high-rating public affairs showspatronized by policy-makers and decision-makers forappearances by spokespersons for CRM, including CRMPand environment officials, coastal mayors, and fisherfolkleaders. Our proactive stance paid off with the ripple effectwitnessed in various radio and TV programs as well aseditorial cartoons, columns and special features.In 1999, as an offshoot of our agenda-settinginitiatives, President Estrada issued a PresidentialProclamation declaring May as Month of the Ocean inthe Philippines. Drafted with technical assistance providedby CRMP, the Proclamation opened windows ofopportunities for the institutionalization of IEC activitieson CRM issues by concerned and partner agencies, as itallows government agencies to allocate resources for theobservance of the Month of the Ocean. The firstobservance of the Month of the Ocean generatedtremendous print and media publicity, from stories onCRMP-supported enterprise development projects tomulti-media interviews on CRM issues. Through ourinitiative, a discussion on marine and coastal issues was37