Brief
Much of the Red Cross’ crisis preparation work is based on volunteer help. A system and communication that pays attention to and helps those who are there to support others, is a must for high-quality, sustainable volunteer organizations.
To spread this important knowledge more efficiently across the whole organization, and through Swedish society at large, the Swedish Red Cross was looking for a new communication tool to help prepare many more people in the event of a crisis.
With that in mind, the Red Cross wanted to produce psychological First Aid educational material that strengthens participants’ ability to act in accordance with the Swedish Red Cross’ values when they meet people in need.
The main challenge is that it’s very difficult to meet someone who has been through something really tough and appears to be angry or upset. Is it even possible to make digital educational material in psychological First Aid where participants can practice summoning up the courage to meet people in a crisis (which is invaluable when it really happens)?
The overall goal was to increase both individuals’ and society’s psychological First Aid preparation and in doing so, also strengthen the Red Cross brand as the world’s leading crisis organization. On completion of the new training course, participants should be capable of meeting people who are experiencing a crisis and feel well prepared to help in a real situation.
Solution
Since the solution had to work both immediately during the pandemic as well as on a long-term basis, a digital training course with extensive interactivity was an obvious choice. We have provided similar solutions for the Swedish Red Cross previously and were able to bring experience and learnings from these projects into this one.
The creative approach was to use authentic events and then create interest and a sense of urgency through powerful dramatization. In several scenes the participants themselves play an active role in extremely chaotic situations.
During the interactive course, participants meet different individual characters who are angry, sad and emotional – authentically portrayed by an actor. By making different choices, the participants see what reactions their actions may provoke – and how their own – and others’ – attitudes change.
The course can be found here, in Swedish as well as in English: https://www.rodakorset.se/engagera-dig/kurser/webbkurs-vaga-mota
A prerequisite for Dare to meet was that all parts and content were evidence-based. Both the production process and the resultant course were therefore reviewed by the Swedish Red Cross’ own experts, crisis managers and psychologists.
Results
Dare to meet has resulted in long-term, accessible, and sustainable training for both Red Cross staff members, volunteers and others interested in these complex issues. Today, the training course is part of the organization’s courses, workshops and seminars.
The client has described the great value and impact Dare to meet has already had in terms of guidance and knowledge sharing for 22,000 volunteers in roughly 580 local associations across the country.
Until now, the interactive course has been used mainly for the internal training of the organisation’s volunteers and employees. The plan is to launch it internally within the International Red Cross and also find ways to spread its message throughout wider society, such as in schools, for example.
The course is also available on the Swedish Red Cross website. In total, the clips have been shown 19,200 times, with an average of just over 15 clips/viewer. The one with the most views so far instructs people on how to deal with a person who is upset.
Dare to meet was a finalist at the Content Marketing Awards in the United States 2022.
Feedback from participants:
“A top educational training session! Really interesting format and highly educational” – Volunteer, Red Cross
“Such a fun, smart format. Afterwards I showed my teenage daughter and she also got into it and spent a long time going through it all.” – Red Cross employee
