The
Power of Humanity theme dominated the Federation’s approach to
communications in 1999, including World Red Cross and Red Crescent
Day – 8 May – when more than 150 National Societies organized
events to launch the Red Cross and Red Crescent millennium year.
Major earthquakes and floods in several countries attracted considerable
media interest, as did the Balkans crisis. The web site, videos,
publications and press relations were all used by the Federation
to promote its work to target audiences, and keep National Societies
informed of its activities worldwide. With the International Committee
of the Red Cross, a new Movement web site was launched.
The Federation actively participated in the work and debates of
the United Nations system, especially regarding coordination of
disaster response and the needs of refugees and children. Relations
with individual UN agencies, as well as with the World Bank and
regional development banks, were strengthened.
1999 was also an exceptional year in terms of funding for operations.
Appeals were launched for operations in 91 countries, requesting
a total of 580 million Swiss francs; these appeals were 83 per
cent covered. During the year, active use was made of the Disaster
Relief Emergency Fund and a new pledge management system and min-imum
reporting standards were introduced. The year also saw new initiatives
in developing relations with the corporate sector.
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Media
and publications
Rapid media response
Demand by international media for information about Federation-supported
activities was high in 1999, especially following major crises
and disasters in the Balkans, Turkey and China. Also, some 100
journalists were accredited to cover issues raised at the 27th
International Conference of the Red Cross and Red Crescent in
November.
During the Balkans crisis, daily updates, stories and photographs
from information delegates deployed throughout the region were
processed for use on the Direct From the Field page of
the Federation’s web site, in the Weekly News, and in advisories
for media officers of National Societies.
In August, information officers from the Secretariat were dispatched
to China to film the impact of new, disastrous floods and to Turkey
– within hours of the strong earthquake which struck there – to
help deal with interview requests from all over the world. Maintaining
and revising the Federation’s web site remained a priority in
1999, and so did the establishment of a Movement web site which
was set up to coincide with the opening of the International Conference.
Videos promote
activities
Video footage of Red Cross Red Crescent activities was used by
international media organizations extensively throughout the year.
Videos released during the year included a joint production by
the Federation and the ICRC illustrating the plight of four families
affected by the Balkans conflict, which was available in Arabic,
English, French and Spanish.
Another video focused on reconstruction and disaster preparedness
activities in Central America following the devastation caused
by Hurricane Mitch in late 1998. Videos were also produced for
the International Conference and the launch of the World Disasters
Report, as well as on support to floods victims in China and
tidal wave survivors in Papua New Guinea.
Publications
with a purpose
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The
Federation produced a variety of publications during the year
to meet the needs of different target audiences. The Red Cross
Red Crescent leaflet was revised and more than 60,000 copies
produced in four languages – Arabic, English, French and Spanish.
The leaflet was distributed to delegations and National Societies
to provide a wide range of readers with an overview of the organization.
The third edition of Key data, which provides statistical
information on Federation operations around the world, was also
issued. Reference materials published included the Strategy
2010 booklet and the Vulnerability and capacity assessment
guide. Technical support was provided for the Sphere project
handbook. Insights – periodic publications highlighting
specific operations – were published on relief and reconstruction
efforts following Hurricane Mitch and the tidal wave in Papua
New Guinea.
Working
with the ICRC, a package of communications tools was developed
for the 27th International Conference to highlight items on the
agenda, including a brochure, The power of humanity.
In the field, the regional Focus newsletters reported on
issues affecting east Africa, Asia and the Pacific, while The
Bridge highlighted National Society activities in eastern
Europe, and Noticias de América Latina shared information
among Latin American societies.
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World
Disasters Report
The seventh edition
of the World Disasters Report was published in June and
focused on the impact of climate change on disasters and their
victims. The report aimed to raise awareness of the urgent need
to improve national and global systems of disaster mitigation
and response. This year, the report was launched in Brussels with
the support of the European Community Humanitarian Office (ECHO)
and the Belgian Red Cross. The Federation produced the report
in English with summaries in French, Spanish and Arabic, while
individual National Societies funded summaries in other languages
and ECHO funded an Italian version.
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Red
Cross, Red Crescent
During
the year, the Movement’s magazine Red Cross, Red Crescent
featured articles on the needs of migrants, the role of youth
members in National Societies, the Geneva Conventions applied
to the Kosovo conflict, and a photo essay of the past 100 years
of Red Cross and Red Crescent action. An electronic version of
the magazine was published on the new Movement web site at the
end of the year.
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Selected
1999 Secretariat publications
Annual
Report 1998
Case study - The recruitment of women to respond to disasters
Emergency Appeal 1999
Emergency response units brochure
Insight - Hurricane Mitch
Insight - Papua New Guinea
Key data
PERCO - Repatriation guidelines for national Red Cross and
Red Crescent societies
Strategic Work Plan implementation report 1998
Strategy 2010
Red Cross Red Crescent leaflet
Transfusion International
Vulnerability and Capacity Assessment guide
World Disasters Report 1999 |
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External relations
Increased profile with UN bodies
In 1999, the Federation continued to increase its profile among
other international organiza-tions, especially through active
participation in meetings and conferences held by the UN and its
subsidiary bodies.
Through its New York office, the Federation maintained its observer
status in the UN General Assembly, participating in debates and
two committees; one for economic and financial issues, and another
on social, humanitarian and cultural affairs. Strength-ening humanitarian
coordination, refugee issues and children’s rights were among
the topics addressed by the Federation.
National Societies represented the Federation at the international
level, acting as “ambassadors”. In September, the Saint Lucia
Red Cross president represented the Federation at a special session
of the UN General Assembly on small island developing states.
The session was a follow-up to a 1994 conference and was important
for the Federation, as many National Societies in the Caribbean
and Pacific are from small islands. Federation representatives
also participated in the UN Economic and Social Council, the Commis-sion
on Human Rights and the working group negotiating and developing
an optional protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child.
Increased emphasis in 1999 was also placed on improving relations
with the private sector for mobilizing resources, and with multilateral
financial institutions such as the World Bank to further long-term
cooperation.
Visitors welcomed
In 1999, some 2,300 people visited the Secretariat to gain a better
understanding of Red Cross and Red Crescent work. A total of 154
organized briefings were held for people from 33 different countries.
Visitors were mostly from National Societies, academic institutions,
governments, and other organizations. Several National Societies
sent members of their executive boards to the Secretariat for
consultations.
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Promoting
humanitarian values
Promoting
the fundamental principles and humanitarian values of the Red
Cross Red Crescent was adopted by the General Assembly as a core
area of the Federation’s work within the context of Strategy 2010.
Feedback from within the Movement during the year outlined the
need for a more consistent and inspirational approach, leading
the Federation to identify three key groups – volunteers, organizations
and communities – as the targets of its promotion activities.
A clearer understanding of these values will enable volunteers
and staff of National Societies to promote better the work they
do, and will facilitate closer cooperation among partner organizations,
officials and communities. All events and special occasions celebrated
by the Movement are opportunities to increase visibility and the
promotion of humanitarian values to the general public. One such
oppor-tunity in 1999 was the public, televised show marking the
beginning of the International Conference.
The German Red Cross hosted this year’s “From principles to action”
workshop which included participants from other National Societies
who wish to add elements of the programme to their own training.
Funding was secured for a similar workshop for 10 National Societies
in the southern Africa region which will take place in May 2000.
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Profiling
the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement
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HRH
Princess Margriet of the Netherlands launched the Movement
web site.
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New
web site launched
On the eve of the 27th International Conference, a new Movement
web site was inaugurated by the chairman of the Standing Commission,
HRH Princess Margriet of the Netherlands, and the presidents of
both the Federation and the ICRC. Also present was the director
of the Reuters Foundation, which provided technical support and
funding for the new site.
Aiming to provide a gateway to the many Red Cross and Red Crescent
sites already in existence, the web site also provides a presence
for those National Societies which do not have individual sites.
Most signifi-cantly, it will provide interactive training possibilities
to increase the effectiveness and capacities of National Societies.
The development of the web site was a project of the communications
forum of the Movement, and will be run jointly by the Federation
and the ICRC.
Millennium year activities
More than 150 National Societies organized events to mark the
start of Red Cross Red Crescent millennium year on 8 May. The
wide range of activities reflected the diversity of the Movement,
ranging from tree planting, blood collection drives and seminars
to mountain climbing, peace vigils and choreographed shows.
In recognition of the slogan, the power of humanity, more
than 800 events and projects were organized throughout the year
to pro-mote humanitarian values and principles and to assist vulnerable
people – such as street children or the elderly. The 50th anniversary
of the Geneva Conventions in August was also commemorated.
National Societies received enormous support from royal personalities,
political and religious leaders, volunteers and members while
carry-ing out national millennium year events. The role of the
Federation’s Secretariat was to provide the framework and platform
for the exchange of ideas on ways to mark the year.
Pins raise
profile
The global pins campaign saw over eight million small cardboard
pins being distributed by 52 National Societies around the world
on World Red Cross Red Crescent Day.
Based on an annual event started by the British Red Cross, the
campaign aims to raise the profile of the Red Cross and Red Crescent,
to mobilize volunteers and supporters, and to raise funds. Unfortunately,
a further 30 National Societies wished to participate but could
not raise the money to invest in the pins.
At the end of the year, the communications forum presented its
second biennial report on its activities to the Council of Delegates,
which renewed the forum’s mandate and agreed that the slogan the
power of humanity be used by the Movement for a further four years.
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Funding
Record funding for emergencies
Donor support for Federation emergency appeals reached a record
level in 1999. This was attributed to high-profile operations
in the Balkans, large-scale disasters such as the earthquakes
in Turkey and Taiwan, and winter assistance programmes in Russia,
Ukraine, Belarus and Moldova to support communities most affected
by continuing economic crises in those countries.
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The
European Community Humanitarian Office
made 80 million Swiss francs available for
Federation programmes in 1999.
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The
Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement’s operation in the Balkans
was supported by an appeal launched jointly with the ICRC, which
attracted 146 million Swiss francs in public and government funding.
In 1999, the Federation launched 37 appeals, including the joint
Balkans appeal, requesting 580 million Swiss francs for 91 operations.
As at 31 March 2000, pledges were received for 480 million Swiss
francs in cash, kind and services, equivalent to 83 per cent of
the total sought. The number of in-kind donations received in
1999 was considerably larger than usual, as northern donors supported
operations in Europe, where transport and logistics costs are
lower.
The major donor in 1999 was ECHO, the European Community Humanitarian
Office, which provided 80.5 million Swiss francs. The main government
donors were the United States, Japan, Britain, Sweden and Norway,
while other countries donating more than 10 million francs were
Germany, the Netherlands, Canada and Finland. Most of the fund-raising
is done by the National Societies in these donor countries, and
funds are generally channelled through them.
The Disaster Relief Emergency Fund (DREF) disbursed 5.9 million
Swiss francs in support of 60 operations during the year. Of these,
23 were operations for which an international appeal was launched
and 37 were minor emergencies. DREF enables funds to be available
immediately for major operations and small emergencies, before
donor pledges arrive. Much of the money is subsequently recovered
from appeal pledges, and at the year’s end the balance of the
fund was 2.3 million Swiss francs, a drop of one million francs
from the start of the year.
The results of two initiatives introduced in 1999 to improve and
standardize both pledging and reporting were encouraging. However,
a survey in the last quarter of 1999 indicated that individual
reports to donors are still too often late. The introduction of
pledge reference numbers on bank transfers has greatly reduced
coding problems, while a new standardized financial report, including
in-kind and delegate contributions, was well received by donors.
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A
good response from donors met 83 per cent of the Federation's
appeals.
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Internet
fund-raising
Online donations through the Federation's web site rose significantly
in 1999, with the huge public interest in the Balkans crisis,
earthquakes in Turkey and floods in Mozambique. A total of 434,350
Swiss francs was pledged through the web site, and online donations
made up 36 per cent of the unear-marked funds received for the
Turkey operation.
PLUS Lotto, an Internet lottery launched in 1997, brought in a
steady income of about 9,300 Swiss francs a week during 1999.
Since the beginning of the project, over one million Swiss francs
has been raised through the lottery.
Statutory
funding
All 176 member National Societies are required by the Federation's
constitution to pay an annual statutory contribution to the Secretariat,
which covers part of the day-to-day running costs of the Secretariat.
In 1999, the total amount paid in statutory contributions was
27.3 million Swiss francs, with 1.7 million francs outstanding
as at 31 December 1999. In addition, 800,000 Swiss francs was
received for previous arrears.
The scale of contributions is based on the declared financial
resources of each society, its quotas over the previous six years,
and its country’s quota to the United Nations. Contributions ranged
from 0.004 per cent of the total amount due from each of the smallest
National Societies up to around 13 per cent for larger societies.
The largest contributor, the American Red Cross, is capped at
25 per cent of the total.
Building
corporate relationships
In 1999, the Federation developed strategic alliances with several
multinational corpor-ations which resulted in sponsorships for
activities around the world. This is a relatively new area for
the Federation but positive relationships have already been forged
with several industry leaders.
Businesses are attaching greater importance to corporate social
responsibility and the impact it has on their public image; the
Federation’s status as a global humanitarian organization offers
them the opportunity to develop this. Some of these relationships
established were for the longer term, such as a five-year partnership
established with Royal & SunAlliance, while others were targeted
at specific operations.
Daimler-Chrysler made a financial contribu-tion for Chinese flood
victims while Adidas helped fund the emergency operation assisting
earthquake victims in Taiwan. Relief activities in Turkey following
the two strong earthquakes were also assisted by cash and in-kind
donations from The Walt Disney Company and Johnson & Johnson corporations.
Exxon Azerbaijan Operating Company funded facilities for internally
displaced people in camps in Azerbaijan. Nestlé S.A. has been
working with the Federation to develop several nutritional programmes,
including software to calculate food needs for refugees and disaster
victims in different areas of the world. Computer equipment provided
by Hewlett-Packard was used at the International Conference in
November, and then donated to the Federation.
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Publications
