On 1st and 2nd February 2018, 30 people – both Communications and Press Officers from Eurodiaconia member organisations and other professionals – gathered in Brussels to reflect on how Communications messages are received by different audiences.

The meeting was hosted by Eurodiaconia, and saw the Eurodiaconia members and external speakers giving presentations on different topics. The meeting particularly aimed at sharing best practice and developing tools and strategies for participants to efficiently direct their message to different audience groups in an increasingly diverse and multicultural society.

The issues covered included supporting social justice among Christian organisations, spreading Christian communications by overcoming ostracism of secular media, tackling hate speech and online abuse, ensuring accessibility in communications for persons with disabilities and campaigning for food banks. Furthermore the communication strategies and best practice of three Eurodiaconia member organisations were presented.

The programme was completed by a study visit to the European Commission Directorate-General European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations (DG ECHO) in Brussels and a group activity challenging participants to create a successful advocacy campaign in view of the 2019 EU Parliament elections took place.

To know more about the Communications Network Meeting, read the meeting report.