Grantees benefit from Communications Capacity Development Training

Twenty participants from the Fund’s first call for funding grant recipients walked away with a better appreciation and understanding of communications after attending the inaugural Communications Capacity Development Training held in Suva from 10-12 April 2019.

According to training facilitator, Maria Ronna Luna Pastorizo Sekiguchi, the support came at a good time for grantees as they re-evaluate their respective strategic plans for the next twelve months.

“It is absolutely critical for the grantees to understand the importance of communications and marketing with their target audiences in mind. Everyone in the training learned how to create a simple marketing plan that is aligned to support their organisation’s goals and overarching strategy,” said Mrs Pastorizo-Sekiguchi.

She added, “It was a wonderful experience to be a training facilitator for this program as the participants came from a diverse set of backgrounds and they were so passionate to share with each other about why their organisations exist, and what makes their organisation uniquely different from others.”

From the importance of branding, to the necessity for a communications plan, the training covered a wide range of essential components of communications that businesses and civil society groups utilise to position their respective organisations in the public domain. The training has empowered the grantees with new skills and confidence to drive communications in their respective organisations.

“My key takeaway for this whole training was that there’s a lot to be learned. We learned about the power of hashtags including how to use it and also the power of videos and other means of communications that we could use in order to help the organisation get the word out to people that need it. For example, for us it would be our members and our donors,” said Nafitalai Uluinikorotabu, Fiji Disabled People’s Federation.

“I learned to brand our organisation. When I go back, I will be setting up a Facebook page for Naitasiri Women in Dairy, and I’ll try and get a website done too,” said Susan Pocock, President of the Naitasiri Women in Dairy Group. “This training reminded me about the power of utilising social media – and using digital media as a platform in which we can create, and mass amplify the messages that we advocate upon, for us particularly on LGBTIQ rights, on social injustice and climate justice,” said Tamani Rarama, Rainbow Pride Foundation.

The training is the first segment of communications capacity development support scheduled for the Fund’s grantees, and will be followed by one to one mentoring support over the next few months.