An effective BluePrint for Flood Risk Communication

Key Learnings

• Multistakeholder collaboration: Involvement from local communities, government, artists, and scientists offered a range of perspectives and helped to bridge the gap between information, policy and practice.
• Collaborative art processes: Artistic practice created a safe space and new channels for dialogue, fostering open communication around a challenging topic. This enabled participants to share their personal experiences of flooding more constructively and positively.
• Enhanced awareness: Community members not directly impacted by flooding became more aware of the long-term effects these events had on their neighbours' well-being, who were directly affected. The community also learned about the need for increased climate resilience.
• Jointly developed risk communication: Active community participation led to tailored flood risk communication, combining scientific insights with personal experiences. The outputs amplified community voices at a decision-making level. Emotionally connecting with policymakers and elected officials made them directly aware of citizen concerns, highlighting the impacts of flooding on their community and the need for building climate resilience.

Summary

Across the island of Ireland, the population is experiencing ever more frequent and severe rainfall and storms as climate change accelerates. Flooding disrupts daily life, damages the environment, and poses growing health and well-being challenges. The BluePrint project utilised a creative, joint development approach to engage flood-affected communities in Northern Ireland, facilitate exchanges in the Republic of Ireland, and collaboratively develop flood-risk communication materials, amplifying the voice of personal experiences. While the artistic process celebrates the hope, inspiration, and creativity these communities have shown when facing climate challenges such as flooding, they also sound a note of urgency. And so, the project invites audiences not just to listen but to act and to leverage change locally, driving broader community resilience.

Contact

Dr. Lydia Cumiskey – LCumiskeyucc [dot] ie (LCumiskey[at]ucc[dot]ie)

Dr. Denise McCullagh – denise [dot] mccullaghucc [dot] ie (denise[dot]mccullagh[at]ucc[dot]ie)