World Meteorological OrganizationWorking together in weather, climate and water

Clare Nullis Communications and Public

Affairs Dept

WMO

World Meteorological OrganizationWorking together in weather, climate and water

Communications and Capacity Development

WMO

Small team – large networkWMO

• WMO structure unique with 189 NMHSs, each with Communications focal points

• Mutually beneficial relationship. WMO benefits greatly from input and expertise from Members

• Members can benefit from WMO’s outreach

CPA revisionWMO

• WMO Communications and Public Affairs strategy being revised

• More emphasis on outreach to Members and also to policy makers, funders and new target audiences

• Greater inclusivity and interraction• Strengthening of the WMO brand

CPA focal pointsWMO

• We hope to strengthen cooperation with CPA focal points in our 189 Members.

• Mutually beneficial relationship – we benefit from input and expertise provided by Members

• Members benefit from international outreach provided by WMO in the media

Training WorkshopWMO

• Thanks to support of IMGW, CPA organized a training workshop for communications focal points in Poland in March 2011 for exchange of information and ideas, with particular emphasis on social media

• One of recommendations was that there should be regional focal points – as in Europe and Latin America – to strengthen communications.

• Plan to repeat this exercise in the future

More input welcomeWMO

• Encourage Members to provide input to CPA so that we can give you greater visibility

• - News From Members

• - Social Media

• - Media events and press briefings

Visibility IncreasingWMO

• Visibility and recognition of WMO and NMHSs has increased greatly in the past few years

• WMO recognized as an undisputed source of reliable science

COP 17WMO

• UNFCCC Executive Secretary and UN Secretary General both singled out WMO (Greenhouse Gas Bulletin) during keynote speeches at COP-17

• South African President Jacob Zuma also highlighted the important role of scientists and meteorologists

COP 17WMO

Ban Ki-Moon:

• «The science is clear. The World Meteorological Organisation has reported that

carbon emissions are at their highest in history and rising.”

Partnerships and FundingWMO

Increased visibility translates into more potential partnerships and increased funding

Communication lies at the heart of this

• We are not just communicating to journalists but to a wider audience that includes policy makers and potential donors.

• Transport or defence ministers can’t be expected to understand complex meteorological terms, but they often control the funding for spending on NMHSs. We need to target our messaging accordingly if we are to convince them to fund weather and water services rather than build a new road or airport

Our audience

• Thank you for your attention

• Clare Nullis

• cnullis@wmo.int

Spreading the message

• Too many weather and climate products are shrouded in a cloud of acronyms and jargon

• We need to communicate climate science, clearly for people to understand what is in it for them.