Communicating amid conflict – Lessons from Ukraine

On 27th April, I joined the Crisis Communications Network for their session on ‘Communicating Amid Conflict: Lessons from Ukraine for Communicators in the Middle East’. The purpose of the session – run using an intentionally audience-led open house ‘drop in’ format – was to bring together senior communicators in the Middle East with colleagues in Ukraine to exchange personal and human lived experiences and best practice during conflict.

Its focus was overwhelmingly practical not political, with an emphasis on the personal and individual experience of communicating amid conflict – not just the professional and  institutional one. Put another way, it was not a lecture on political, organisational or institutional best practice – rather a comparison of commonalities across countries and continents.

While the conflict in the Middle East has lasted just under two months, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 has, tragically, afflicted professional communicators there for the past four years. The session was initiated by my fellow Committee member and Special Advisor to the Crisis Communications Network, Rod Cartwright and the panel consisted of:

Alina Steklova, Founder and CEO of COMMSX, Sergii Bidenko, Crisis and Reputation Advisor, and Partner at SEC Newgate Ukraine, Julia Petryk, CEO and Co-Founder of Calibrated, and Founder of the Ukrainian PR Army  and Natalia Popovych, founder of One Philosophy group of companies, and co-founder of Resilient Ukraine and Business  Ukraine.

It’s not war, not peace and not quite business as usual

Justin Kerr-Stevens, chair of MEPRA ,set the scene by saying this while this is a new challenge for Middle East communicators, it isn’t a uniform experience for everyone. Priorities have shifted, with the importance of internal communications taking much higher precedence and leadership teams meeting more frequently. But while it has been a steep learning curve for all, it’s pretty much ‘business as usual’. Offices have stayed open, teams have been showing up and although client projects have been paused and priorities shifted, life continues. But it’s clear that the ceasefire is exceptionally fragile and everyone is aware that the situation could change at any time and without warning.

Long-planned campaigns have been quietly shelved or postponed. There’s a constant juggling act of advising leadership on tone and timing, holding the line on misinformation, managing media interest, and keeping teams steady and motivated. The stress caused, both professionally and personally for communicators operating within this environment is substantial.

Resilience isn’t an organisation tool, it’s a design

Ukrainian panel members were united in stressing the huge importance of building resilience in times of conflict. There is no ‘return to normal’ in Ukraine, but they believe that resilience can be achieved by preserving values, adapting systems and constantly building for the future.

Given that there is little more than a cigarette paper between personal and professional pressures, compartmentalising the two is not recommended. Building systems that don’t depend on one individual, demonstrating organisational flexibility and ‘fixing your own oxygen mask before helping others’ were all highlighted as best practice.

Prepare for the short-, medium- and long-term

A key theme, and one that panel members returned to frequently, was scenario planning – including for foreseeable worst cases. Planning for scenarios such as team members relocating to different locations, knowing where the nearest bomb shelters are and packing escape suitcases were all cited as ways of preparing teams for the worst case scenario.

Given that no-one can predict the end of a conflict, planning for the next 18 months – in parallel with preparing for more immediate scenarios – was recommended as by then personal and professional situations could be much worse. Structure, processes, policies and systems were deemed essential tools for business continuity –  even if they are only a starting point, rather than an end in themselves.

Emotional wellbeing during conflict

Emotional responses, such as crying, are an inevitable response to human conflict. So creating psychologically safe spaces for team members to emote, express and cry was seen as essential for emotional well-being. Conversely, black humour – which is common in war time – was regarded as a crucial coping mechanism. Meanwhile one panel member’s WhatsApp group was rife with office challenges – walk 10,000 steps a day, drink enough water, eat properly. A reminder to keep going and keep active, even in seemingly impossible circumstances.

Emotional responses, such as crying, are an inevitable response to human conflict. So creating psychologically safe spaces for team members to emote, express and cry was seen as essential for emotional well-being.

Ukrainian panel members spoke about the importance of sleep as crucial for well-being. One said her team members are asked not to book morning calls given bombing raids at night and that they had adopted their own protocols of working. It goes without saying that kindness to colleagues is even more essential in such circumstances.

The human connection

As public relations specialists, we enjoy making connections with people and this human connectedness was seen as a source of sanity by Ukrainian colleagues. These relationships –  whether it be with vendors, clients, media or colleagues –  are helping businesses and the country itself to stay resilient. After all, you will never know who will give you the most support.

It would be fair to say that I and all my UK-based Crisis Communications Network colleagues found this session deeply moving and, at times, emotionally overwhelming. In the UK, war has long faded from lived reality and overseas conflict can easily be shelved in a corner of our minds. Unless you’ve been caught up in a conflict you have no idea what it’s like to live and work in a dangerous and uncertain environment.

I sincerely hope that this session, during which stories of bravery, community and resilience shone like a beacon, will benefit fellow communication professionals in the Middle East, as they adapt to the current personal and business uncertainty in their region.

Author: Rosie Hamilton, Chart PR is the Founder of Bees Knees Marketing and the Social Media Manager for the Crisis Communications Network

Image: AI generated