Reaching pacific communities who hear with their hearts

Alcohol was a key feature in issues of water safety and needed to be part and parcel of the key messages being delivered to Pacific communities according to Ben Taufua, Project Manager Pacific Strategy for Water Safety New Zealand (WSNZ).

He told the Alcohol Advisory Council’s (ALAC) Working Together Conference in Wellington today that current water safety advertisements were not reaching Pacific communities.

``We have had six Pacific drowning so far this year and of those five involved alcohol. It’s a serious problem.’’

Mr Taufua said different approaches were needed to communicate effectively with diverse Pacific audiences.
The Pacific Peoples Water Safety Strategy for WSNZ was intentionally a strategy for implementation with Pacific families. It provided a direction which would enable WSNZ to meet its mission.

``One of the resources developed as a result of the Pacific Strategy is a DVD developed specifically for community roadshows entitled Without a Father,’’ he said.

``The documentary focuses on the impact of drowning on Pacific families. It focuses on ‘real’ families, living with ‘real’ consequences, evoking ‘real’ emotions within Samoan and Tongan communities specifically. The DVD demonstrates the need for collective responsibility around water safety. It is inherently emotional and contributes to the desired behaviour change. It presupposes that Pacific communities hear with their hearts, so will ultimately achieve the desired outcome.’’

Mr Taufua said anecdotal evidence suggested that current water safety advertisements were not reaching Pacific communities hence the importance of targeted messages to the hearts of the audience rather than the mere portrayal of facts and statistics.
``For Pacific communities the engagement of hearts as well as minds is critical to effecting behavior change in a population this is driven by emotional connection to real live issues affecting their daily lives.’’