Awareness and Communication Strategy
IWRM should be everyone’s business simply because everyone has interest and stake in
water especially considering that ‘water is life’. The specific messages should centre on
demystifying IWRM and produce simple definition statements that everyone can understand.
Secondly, all sectors need to work together in investing and managing water and related
resources and services to ensure equity, maximum contribution to regional integration,
economic development, poverty eradication and a sustainable environment.” The message
should emphasise the need to consider the different uses of water together and not in
isolation.
2.2.2
The IWRM Brand
Communicate the IWRM approach as “Watering life together forever”
To who:
SADC Citizens
How: Animated advertisements, jingles, pop-up posters, banners
and promotional items, school stationery, conference stationery
(bags, note pads, pens), corporate merchandise (shirts, hats, coffee
mugs and pens),costumes for clowns and puppets, entertainment
(songs, poems around the slogan), and standard PowerPoint and
slide shows.
The key elements of the definition and the principles were unpacked into a simple slogan
following a four-step process outlined in Figure 2.1. The IWRM technical definition could
therefore be communicated simply in a single slogan: “Watering life together forever.”
While this is the broad slogan it can be adapted to reflect the sector being targeted. In this
way, a secondary slogan could be included such as:
Economy: “Watering Life Together - More jobs and income per drop for today
and tomorrow’
Agriculture: “Watering Life Together - More food per drop for today and
tomorrow”
Energy: “Watering Life Together - More power per drop for today and tomorrow”
Business: “Watering Life Together - More profits per drop for today and tomorrow”
This Strategy proposes the development of a simple SADC Water emblem incorporating the
SADC logo and the water drop1 as well as the key message of “Watering life together
forever.” Consistent use of the SADC Water emblem and slogan would popularize IWRM
and ensure its regional recognition by SADC citizens. This should be supplemented by a
simple translation of IWRM concepts and principles into common English, Portuguese and
French that ordinary people can understand. The countries should be encouraged to translate
the messages in local languages. The journalist and media personnel and services should use
such terminologies in mass communication on IWRM issues.
The logo and slogans could be communicated through animated advertisements, pop-up
posters, banners and promotional items, school stationery, conference stationery (bags, note
pads, pens), corporate merchandise (shirts, hats, coffee mugs and pens), costumes for clowns
and puppets, entertainment (songs, poems around the slogan), and a standard PowerPoint
and slide shows.
1
The water drop is a universally recognised logo for water management. It is already being used extensively
in the SADC region by national departments. It should incorporate the SADC corporate colours and can be
designed simply so as not to clutter existing material on which it would share branding.
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