Caribbean Times 44th Issue

6 c a r i b b e a n t i m e s . a g
Friday 25th November 2016
NODS calls for more focus on
disaster management plans
By Joanna Paris
Director of the National
Office of Disaster Services
(NODS), Philmore Mullin,
has issued a clarion call for
businesses to develop Disaster
Management plans,
which cover all of the disasters
that can affect the country.
While appearing on
Against the Backdrop on
state media on Thursday,
Media is key to democracy
By Renio Abbott
The China Latin American and Caribbean Media Summit
was concluded in Santiago, Chile yesterday. Of the many vital
points that were made at the summit, it was underscored
that partnership in media is vital and should serve as a bridge
between sources to share media work. It should be regarded
as essential and of great value to a country.
The utilization of media forces in the exchange of ideas
for development in cultural diversity, promotion and acceptance
should be published and seen on every media forum
in all forms and languages. The collaboration of the media
and vivid presentation of information is a great way to foster
news reporting.
Social media serves as a critical forum in the media,
it aids as a great help for a country and the views are not
only very important, but can also be beneficial to society. It
should be in all available languages especially for the global
unity to promote “One World; New World; Unification”.
Websites should be developed abroad in association with
different media houses to help a country’s economy, expand
growth and experience, while providing necessary education
to tourists.
Media in China, Latin America and the Caribbean is
about to change and the world will be looking at us from
many different angles. Society is served by the media in so
many different ways especially now via Facebook, Instagram,
Twitter, MSN and the list goes on. Someone once said
Twittering is a form of Journalism but it’s not.
Newspapers should not be eliminated because of the
threat of mobile technology, but it can be an online newspaper
because of the constant recycling, it is also a more
economical form of running a paper. Not everyone has the
opportunity or luxury of having the internet, therefore there
is always be a need for circulation of good old fashion print.
Mullin expressed his dissatisfaction
with the level of seriousness
that disaster management
is approached with
across the country.
He indicated that the
discussion needs to be widened
and that there need to
be individual and collective
responsibility in this regard.
“We need to make a deliberate
and consistent effort
to build resilience into our
development. As we develop,
we need to ensure that we
build right. There is a falsehood
perpetrated by many
that this office is responsible
to ensure that everybody is
safe. That is an individual
responsibility,” he said.
He said that the department
has plans to engage
the public more in efforts to
increase awareness about disaster
services and management.
As the 2016 Hurricane
Season comes to an official
end on November 30 th ,
Mullin reflected on the preparedness
for the season. He
said that the country was not
affected by any major storm
or hurricane but preparation
cannot be over emphasized.
He mentioned that moving
forward, more focus
should be placed on people.
“We need to remove the
focus to some extent from
things and focus more on
people. Yes, we need to ensure
that shelters are intact
and everything else like that
but ultimately, we need to
ensure that at the end of a disaster,
the focus is on people
and their ability to survive
and sustain themselves after
an impact”, Mullin emphasized.
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