Increasing Management Effectiveness through Collaborative Meetings and Strategic Communications Training – Bahamas, 2023
The Reef Resilience Network provided facilitation and strategic communication training for 32 marine managers representing four government agencies and three NGOs in The Bahamas. These participants will be working to increase the management effectiveness of the Bahamas National Protected Area System through community-based monitoring programs, strategic engagement of fishers, and the implementation of surveillance tools for enforcement and compliance. During the training, participants learned facilitation skills for collaborative meetings and practiced running their own meetings. They also received an overview of the Reef Resilience Network’s Strategic Communication for Conservation guide and learned tips for developing effective messages, along with a tool to craft messages for a target audience.
The training was led by Ann Weaver, who is a certified professional facilitator and has been a facilitation trainer for Marine Protected Area and Coastal zone managers, along with Petra MacGowan and Michelle Graulty (TNC/Reef Resilience Network). The training was funded by The Builders Initiative and The Nature Conservancy and hosted by the Bahamas National Trust.
Using the Strategic Communication for Conservation guide. Photo © Elijah Sands, Bahamas National Trust
Small group work at the 2023 Bahamas training. Photo © Elijah Sands, Bahamas National Trust
Participants filling in their message boxes. Photo © Elijah Sands, Bahamas National Trust
Participants share one thing they learned during the training with the group. Photo © Elijah Sands, Bahamas National Trust