Since the start of the year, Lena Bock has swapped her usual desk as Partnerships Officer for the Global Emergency Telecommunications Cluster (ETC) for the beautiful—but busy—Barbados, working from the World Food Programme’s Multi-Country Office (MCO) as an ETC Preparedness Officer (EPO). But don’t be fooled by the tropical backdrop—it's been full steam ahead on making sure emergency telecoms are ready to stand strong when the next hurricane season hits.

From coordinating with key partners to testing life-saving communications equipment, the EPO’s role is all about making sure that when a crisis strikes, vital communication lines are up and running.

Building bridges, boosting readiness

One of the EPO’s key responsibilities is representing the ETC at inter-agency working groups and meetings, such as the CDPG-DM and the inter-agency UN Emergency Telecommunications Team (UNETT), which comes together regularly to share updates, coordinate plans, and keep everyone on the same page. 

Currently, the ETC is organizing a hands-on emergency communications training, which will be delivered by long-standing partner Ericsson Response for members of UNETT and the Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency (CDEMA). With their technical expertise and support, the ETC is helping ensure that responders are not only prepared—but confident and capable in the field.

What’s needed, where, and how?

Of course, no training effort is complete without knowing exactly what’s needed on the ground. That’s where the new training needs assessment comes in, developed in collaboration with CDEMA. The goal? Map out the key systems being used, figure out where the gaps are, and pinpoint the best way to strengthen telecoms capacity across the region.

This assessment is laying the groundwork for a comprehensive training roadmap to make sure there is smart and strategic planning in place, and not simply reacting.

On the ground in Dominica

In March, the EPO hit the road—well, the air—to Dominica for a joint mission with the WFP MCO Supply Chain team. There, they met with everyone involved in keeping communication flowing during emergencies: government officials, the national regulator, mobile network operators, the Office of Disaster Management (ODM), and even the Chief of Police.

The aim? To assess the country’s emergency telecommunications readiness and identify priority areas to strengthen. It was an action-packed visit, full of insights and collaboration.

Strengthening preparedness in Saint Lucia

From 12 to 15 May, the ETC Preparedness Officer participated in a WFP Emergency Preparedness and Response (EPR) mission to Saint Lucia. During the visit, discussions were held with the National Emergency Management Office (NEMO), the Government's ICT Department and the Meteorological agency to explore potential areas of collaboration.

Key topics included enhancing ICT infrastructure resilience within NEMO’s Emergency Operations Centre (EOC), opportunities for capacity building—particularly around enhancing capacity and raising awareness of the critical role of radio networks—and possible support for upgrading their server room. The mission laid a strong foundation for future collaboration and demonstrated an openness to as well as a need for ETC support, particularly in strengthening preparedness efforts.

Coming soon: ETC Chatbot

And because preparedness also means innovation, the EPO is gearing up to pilot the ETC Chatbot in the Caribbean. This isn’t just any chatbot—it’s powered by AI and natural language processing (NLP) to provide people with simple, personalized access to humanitarian information.

Imagine being able to quickly get accurate, life-saving info through a friendly chat interface. That’s the future we’re working on.

----------

It’s been a busy few months for the EPO and the wider team—but it’s all part of building stronger, more connected, and more resilient communities across the Caribbean. Stay tuned—there’s plenty more to come!