Secure Kids Project Meets in Liepaja to Work on Inclusive Crisis Communication 

The Secure Kids project event, hosted by the Liepaja Municipal Police, was held in Liepaja, Latvia, from 17–19 September 2024. It brought together project partners and the project’s crisis communication expert to collaborate on developing effective communication strategies for use during emergencies.

The primary goals of the workshop were to identify and develop various risks, along with the resulting crisis scenarios, and to design effective crisis communication-related scenarios that could be used in interactive workshops with children. This process involved creating both the storyline for each scenario as well as the format and framework for the corresponding exercises. Since the partner organisations will also be responsible for conducting these interactive workshops, this step was crucial not only for understanding the work but also as a form of indirect training to ensure they are well-prepared to conduct these workshops with children.

The Secure Kids project considers inclusive crisis communication with children to be an important aspect of meaningful child participation in disaster risk reduction. Therefore, a key component of the workshop was a visit to a local high school, where the project team worked directly with children (students aged around 15) to identify risks and scenarios relevant to their lives. This hands-on approach allowed the team to understand children’s perspectives, which was essential in enhancing the effectiveness and credibility of the project’s work.

Another important part of the meeting was the risk-identification walk – a “tool” already identified in the previously developed Strategic Guidance for inclusive Crisis Communication as a relevant exercise for collecting input and identifying potential risks that communities may experience in everyday life. This activity, led by the local partner organisation Liepaja Municipal Police, focused particularly on risks affecting children. The police shared their expertise with the project partners that might have a stronger background rather in child participation. 

The workshop in Liepaja marked an important step forward for the Secure Kids project, which is co-funded by the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Justice (DG Justice) and the project’s partner organisations. The insights gained from this workshop will directly inform the interactive workshops for children, ensuring that the scenarios developed are both practical and engaging.

For more information about the project, visit the Secure Kids project page.