Special Report on Global Risks and Resilience

Dear reader,

The recently published World Risk Poll Report 2024¹ gives us important insights into how different population groups perceive and respond to risks.

I was shocked reading these couple of bullet points:

• More than four in 10 people (43%) in the world say they can do nothing to protect themselves in a disaster situation.

• Over a third of countries in the World Risk Poll Resilience Index (42 out of 120) see significant decreases in individual resilience since 2021.

• Nearly a third of people (30%) across the world who experienced a disaster in the past five years did not receive a single warning.

The study, titled "Resilience in a Changing World"," also includes valuable lessons for crisis communication professionals.

In this edition of the Wag The Dog newsletter, I am covering the key findings and their implications for our work.

Enjoy the report and the analysis!

PS: a big shout out to Amanda Coleman for putting this on my radar through LinkedIn in the first place.

Table of Contents

• The evolving nature of early warning systems

• Unequal access to life-saving information

• Gender Disparities in Crisis Preparedness

• The power of early warnings in building resilience

• Economic realities and their impact on risk percep …

• A call to action

• References and further reading.

• Sponsor

• What I am reading/testing/checking out:

• Before you go…

The evolving nature of early warning systems

One of the most striking findings of the report is how early warning systems are changing.

While traditional media such as radio, television and newspapers remain the main sources of warnings, there has been a significant increase in warnings received via the internet and social media.

This change emphasises the need for a multi-channel approach to crisis communication to ensure we reach as many people as possible.

Unequal access to life-saving information

The report highlights worrying inequalities in access to early warning systems across different regions and demographics.

Regions such as East Asia, Australia, New Zealand and North America have more robust warning systems than North Africa, Central/West Africa and Central Asia.

In addition, younger age groups are more likely to receive warnings via digital channels than older age groups.

Gender Disparities in Crisis Preparedness

One unexpected finding is the gender gap in receiving early warnings. Men are slightly more likely than women to report receiving warnings, although both are equally affected by disasters.

This inequality is more pronounced in low-income countries.

The power of early warnings in building resilience

One of the most encouraging findings is the strong link between early warnings and overall resilience.

Individuals, households and communities that have received at least one early warning score significantly higher on the Resilience Index. This trend applies to all income levels.

Economic realities and their impact on risk perception

The report looks at the complex interplay between economic factors and resilience.

Growth in national gross domestic product ( GDP) is associated with increased community resilience, while individual perceptions of economic realities strongly influence personal resilience.

A call to action

The World Risk Poll Report 2024 is a wake-up call for us crisis communications professionals. It clearly spells out the need for:

1. Diverse, multi-channel warning systems

2. Targeted efforts to close gaps in access to warnings

3. Communication strategies that are gender inclusive

4. Emphasising early warnings as a tool to strengthen resilience

5. Consideration of economic factors in risk communication

These insights will be critical to developing more effective, comprehensive and resilient crisis communication strategies. The challenge now is to translate these findings into actionable tactics and practises that can save lives and build stronger communities worldwide.

Let me know, how will you take these recommendations into account?

References and further reading.

1  World Risk Poll 2024 Report: Resilience in a Changing World. (2024, June 19). World Risk Poll. https://wrp.lrfoundation.org.uk/publications/resilience-in-a-changing-world

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What I am reading/testing/checking out:

• Tool: Afforai is an AI-integrated reference manager that helps researchers manage, annotate, cite papers and conduct literature reviews with AI reliably. Get 10% off with coupon code PHILIPPE

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• Article/Research: Public health message influences vaccine perceptions. The research project, Loss Framing Increases Entity Theorists’ Vaccine Uptake, has been published in the International Journal of Research in Marketing.

• Tool: I am checking out the French open and portable generative AI called Mistral. You can test their chat interface and compare it with other popular platforms.

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