The world faces unprecedented challenges: the COVID-19 pandemic, climate crisis, humanitarian disasters, gender inequity and racial and social injustice.
Solutions to these problems cross disciplines and require creativity, technical expertise and innovation to achieve significant and sustainable change. That’s why social and behavior change communication has never been more important.
Behavioral interventions like physical distancing, mask-wearing and vaccine uptake around COVID-19 has brought increased public and policy attention to not only the role of social and behavior change in saving lives and improving livelihoods, but also to what works in introducing new attitudes and practices in response to urgent crises.
Throughout the 2022 Summit – held in Marrakesh, Morocco from December 5 to 9 – we will reflect on how what we have learned through the COVID-19 pandemic can inform and inspire us as we use SBCC to tackle other global challenges, most importantly those of disparity – be they disparities of wealth, health, access, gender or education.
What is Social and Behavior Change Communication (SBCC)?
SBCC is the strategic use of communication to inspire social and behavior change to improve lives around the world - from increasing use of modern contraception, to fostering gender equality, to addressing the pressing issue of the climate crisis - playing a crucial role in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals.
Catalyzing transformational change on agendas of urgency .
This theme will look at how we can accelerate transformational change in the critical, interconnected areas of:
• Climate crisis and global heating
• Gender equity
• Disparities in health and wealth
• Global inequality
• Humanitarian action
Future forward .
The ways in which the world communicates continue to evolve rapidly in our increasingly interconnected and mediated world. In this theme, we will explore three topics tied to the future of the field:
• How digital media is transforming SBCC
• Issues around misinformation and disinformation
• The future of the field
Connecting the dots .
The COVID-19 pandemic is global and has connected us in ways we’ve rarely, if ever, seen before. Within this theme we will explore connections in two distinct areas with a focus on strengthening processes and support within the field:
• Connecting for collective action
• Connecting the SBCC community to increase collaboration, share skills and resources and build capacity