The Amazon Basin Project (ACTO/UNEP/GEF) has just launched the Amazon Communicators Connection Communication Manual, a practical guide for professionals working directly in the field, in contact with the public benefiting from the Project’s actions and interventions. These professionals—National Assistants and communicators from associated institutions—form the Amazon Communicators Network, a network responsible for strengthening the visibility of initiatives carried out in the eight Amazonian countries. In addition to their technical functions, they play a strategic role in recording and producing photographic, audiovisual, and textual content, bringing the Project closer to local communities, governments, partner institutions, and the general public. The manual offers clear and accessible guidelines on how to interview, photograph, record videos, and publicize activities, always in line with the Project’s Communication Strategy and the objectives of regional cooperation for the sustainable management of Amazonian waters.
Strategic communication and the role of the Amazon Connection
The Amazon Basin Project’s Communication Strategy guides all actions of the Amazon Communicators Connection, based on principles such as Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM), participatory governance, climate change mitigation and adaptation, institutional strengthening, and the Source to Sea approach. Through channels such as the Project’s website, ACTO’s social networks, and the Amazon Waters newsletter, the Project’s communication conveys the concept of “cooperation in action for Amazon waters,” promoting an integrated, inclusive narrative aligned with regional sustainability.
Guided by this strategy, Connection communicators play an essential role in the visibility and engagement of the Project, connecting its actions to local communities, governments, and partners. Their activities include producing articles and notes, taking photos, conducting interviews, and recording videos for the Amazon Voices series, as well as strengthening the network of contacts and community collaborators. In this way, the Amazon Communicators Network consolidates itself as a link between technical cooperation and social participation, using communication as a tool for integration and sustainable management of Amazonian waters.
Expanding the network of Amazonian communicators
The manual also proposes a step forward: expanding the Amazonian Communicators Connection by encouraging the active participation of local communities. The initiative invites residents of the intervention areas to become collaborators in the Project’s communication, sharing photos and videos that portray the activities and their positive impacts on the territories. This participatory approach strengthens local representation and contributes to a more diverse and pluralistic narrative about the Project’s results, while reinforcing awareness of the importance of sustainable water resource management and cooperation among Amazonian countries.
A tool to strengthen cooperation
By offering clear and accessible guidelines, the Amazon Communicators Connection Communication Manual consolidates a collaborative space between technicians, communicators, and Amazonian communities. It is a tool that contributes to making the collective work of ACTO countries visible and strengthening social engagement for the protection of Amazonian waters.
