Madrid, teaching emergencies' first step

The community of Madrid will be the first territory in Spain where primary education students’ will be able to acquire knowledge in Civil Protection, Emergency, First Aid and Road Safety Education. Two years after @LuisserranoR uploaded a tweet pleading for these contents to be included in compulsory education; Madrid will include these topics in primary education next course (2014-2015).

It is a first step and we (those who participate in Edcivemerg) are proud and grateful to all who have supported the idea from the beginning: authorities, first responders, scientific societies, journalists and individuals.

Among them today I want to thank you Alcorcon’s, Mayor David Perez , who lend us the city as a testing bench, so all primary students age 12 have already been trained. My gratitude is also for the Community of Madrid, the first who will take into consideration all our objetives.

The topics will be in different subjects

It happens to me that almost every time a journalist interviews me asking for the question she or he thinks that we are talking of a new subject. So I have to explain them that what we have are several topics distributed in several subjects.

So, contents related to First Aid will be included in Science, as they are in other European countries. They also are in Civic Education as well in Physical Education. In this last case, linked to to sports-related injuries.

The Road Safety Education files are gathered in Social Sciences. Their main goal is to acquire knowledge to help consolidate and correct road behavior habits. Among the learning standards are getting to know the meaning of traffic signs; and recognizing the importance of following the rules, both as a pedestrian and as a driver.

The topics related to Civil Protection will be included in Madrid in Social Science, and they will be developed along the six years of primary education.

This said, I am sure this is only a first step and all our students will be capable, in due time, to act as first responders and save a life.

Let’s hope the rest of Spain will also include all these requirements as soon as possible.

Are we going crazy?

I can’t hardly understand why people seem to pay no attention when authorities try to make civil protection and warn citizens to follow their advice. This behavior is being repeated once and again this winter in the coast of Spain, where windstorm and heavy rain are causing waves up to 11 meters. A man died swept by a wave last February 28^th in Ondarroa (Basque Country)

It is disgrace enough that ordinary citizens do not pay attention to this serious warnings, but what is more worrying to me is that some journalist were already  swept by a wave last February 6^th in Donostia (Basque Country) despite the fact that the police were there and they have established a security cordon, whose efficiency you can judged after watching this video.

They were luckier than the citizen from Ondarroa, since they were not in the border of the duck.

A big wawe surpassed the security cordon 

As you can see in the video, two teams of journalists from the news agency EFE  and Antena 3 TV are reached by a wave in the Salamanca Paseo de Donostia while recording images. The camera operator from La Sexta tv was injured after being dragged by a wave in the Cantabrian Sea, as reported the DYA and eyewitnesses.

The victim was recording the maritime storms that hit the Bay of Biscay when a large wave jumped over the jetty and  entered the Paseo de Salamanca , dragging several people.

As a result of this heavy sea, the camera operator suffered blunt force trauma to the lower back and arm, and he ended up in Hospital.

What else do we need?

#Edcivemerg, a dream coming true

A year and a half ago, a group of professional related to the emergency field joined our efforts to ask for a wish long time wanted: teaching all the children in Spain First Aid, Civil Protection and contents related to Emergencies, within one or more compulsory subjects, so we can ensure that all children will be capable not only to protect themselves but also to act as first responders while they wait for the emergency services to arrive. Today, the Senate approved a Parliamentary bill in this sense, and we all hope that it will be a reality in schools as soon as possible.

It’s been a long way since February 1^st, 2012 when a group of people joined our efforts in #Edcivemerg to make this dream a reality, spreading the word that our children today can save lives tomorrow, as I already explained here, and today it is a benchmark marking the starting point.

Edcivemerg members in front of the Senate

Besides expressing my happiness and emotion, I wish to say thank you, first of all to all my colleagues who have been working without dismay, but also to the media, the professionals who have given their support in social media, as well as the scientific and proffesional societies and the politicians who backed up the initiative all around the country. 

We had a dream, and today it has come true!

Crisis, Journalism and Social Media

It’s no news that we are in crisis. Besides the economical one, we are witnessing a world where new things come up almost every minute. I’m talking here about Social Media, and what I would like to question is whether and how journalism's crisis is related to the  whole new scenario provided by Social Media and all the features attached to them, particularly when a crisis strikes, whenever it is a natural disaster or a topic related to a political issue.

When I studied Journalism at college, more than twenty years ago, I learn that I had to confirm the information with two sources. That was the way I started working at the radio in Spain and that was what any of us did. No one ever thought of broadcasting any little piece of information not corroborated by at least one trusted source. If a citizen called you, or the Radio Station, to give some information, they were a source of information you should check. Nothing more, nothing less.

Picture send by @Kailuland to @112madrid
showing a crack in Peñalara (Madrid)

Only yesterday a citizen called @kaikuland sent a message via Twitter,with some pictures, to Madrid Emergency Service, @112cmadrid, warning about deep cracks (up to eight meters) on the snow in Peñalara, a mountain near Madrid. In a wonderful example of citizen journalism, @kaikuland contributed to create civil protection culture providing graphical useful evidence through Social Media, as @LuisSerranoR explained in this video-post (in spanish) shared by the digital magazine iRescate. Well done.

Influencers and trusted information

On the other side, we also know of many examples where false information had been uploaded through social media. If we only have a look to Hurricane Sandy pictures, there is no need to insist on the topic.

But what happens when it is a traditional media with a reputation and millions of readers who shares non verified information? I'm talking now about spanish newspaper El País when the diary published a fake of Venezuela's Prime Minister, Hugo Chavez, on January 25^th 2013, with 5 columns in its paper edition. The picture had been  authentified by a news Agency, they say. It remained in the digital edition for half an hour while the paper edition was withdrawn.

Paper edition of EL PAÍS showing fake
picture of Hugo Chávez in hospital

As a consequences of this misfortune, El País has lost not only an important part of its reputation but also many readers. What for? To be the first? We all know that in this new scenario, speed is more related to being relevant and to avoid rumors when a crisis strikes than to being first when there is no need. Old days when journalist and the media were the first source has gone, forever.

We, the journalist, should remember that we are who know the rules and we shouldn't forget how they apply, since we are supposed to make journalism (according to law), despite the new social media or whatever new chances the future may bring. It is our responsibility to be truthful because it is not only our reputation what we should worry about, but in a disaster, it is matter of protecting citizens, their properties and the environment.

Thanks  to digital volunteers, integrated in VOST, traditional media as well as ordinary citizens who post  with responsibility, social media are self-correcting, and things always end up in the right place.

If the influencers are those with a reputation, you may lose yours, besides your influence, at once, whoever you are, a media, a journalist or a citizen, in one single click.

The question is: Is the Hugo Chavez incident, and many others we see almost daily, related with the fact that the traditional media are not anymore neither the only source of information nor the first? I think it is. Don't you?

Please feel free to share your thoughts.

Basic Life Support: training students in emergencies

The Scandinavian Journal of Trauma, Resuscitation and Emergency Medicine has just published a longitudinal investigation which shows how high school students’ skills –related to CPR- improve after being training with Basic Life Support Techniques. The document indicates that Sudden Cardiac Arrest is the most common cause of death worldwide. It affects about 350,000 to 700,000 people in Europe annually and its incidence is expected to rise in the coming years. Although the Sudden Cardiac Arrest incidence at schools accounts for only 2.6% of all public location, if students, as well as teachers, know CPR manoeuvres, they can save a life that, otherwise, might be lost. Moreover, they will be capable of applying CPR anywhere a person collapsed by them.

According to Theresa M Meissner, Cordula Kloppe and Christoph Hanefeld investigation  people who suffer from sudden cardiac arrest depend on prompt basic life support (BLS). Patients who receive bystander cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) have a two to three times higher survival rate (8.2% vs. 2.5% for patients who did not receive CPR). Extensive education of the population in particular countries and regions led to high numbers of bystander CPR in cases of out-of-hospital cardiac arrests. To mention but one example, 12 year old Kylee Shea collapsed in her school (in the United States). She survived because two trained teachers helped her using a life saving device, as shown in this video.

However, studies show that often less than one-third of out-of hospital witnessed cardiac arrest victims receive bystander CPR. Furthermore, 50-65% of cardiac arrests happen at home. Because these victims are less likely to receive bystander CPR, they have poorer outcomes than those who are subject to out of hospital cardiac arrest in other non-hospital locations. In these cases, bystanders are usually family members and can include high school aged students. “Educating school children about Basic Life Support- Meissner, Kloppe and Hanefeld say- is an excellent strategy to reach a broad public and increases the percentage of trained adults in a community”. It is also relevant the fact that high school students have the cognitive and physical ability to act as first bystanders in an emergency by providing CPR to children and even adults.

Other Civil Protection contents

There are some other important skill that students should learn at school. What to do in case of fire, how to act in a car accident, how to prevent, manage and protect yourself in case of natural or man made disaster, how to communicate the incident when calling 112 (911 in the USA), how to evacuate a building, if necessary.

In #Edcivemerg share the opinion that schools are an ideal setting to teach these contents  because a large part of the community is introduced to these life-supporting prospects. We highly recommend that all this knowledge are implemented as a mandatory part of the curriculum. And that is why #Edcivemerg spokespersons are having a meeting tomorrow with the General Director of Evaluation and Cooperation, Xavier Gisbert @XGDC at the Ministry of Education to present him our manifesto and some contents proposals to be introduce in Spanish schools.


What do you think? Comments are welcome.

How a social media campaign can help save lives

As many of you may already know, a group of emergency services professionals have started a campaign to include civil protection education in schools here in Spain, with the ultimate goal of saving lives. The opportunity arose when our new Education Minister José Ignacio Wert , @Jiwert, announced that it was his intention to introduce some changes in a school subject called Civil Education. To this end, we have created the hastag #EdCivEmerg, where you can follow all the information related to this topic. 

It all started last week when Luis Serrano @LuisSerranoR posted a tweet  to the Education Minister asking him whether he would consider adding civil protection and first aid contents to this subject. The Minister replied that he liked the idea.  Following this, the idea was endorsed by Government Adviser, Cristina Cifuentes (@ccifuentes), the Presidency Adviser Regina Plañol (@reginaplanol), as well as some NGOs, such as the Spanish Red Cross, (@CruzRojaEsp), the Spanish Association Against Fire (ASELF), (@ASELFcomunica), the  Spanish Society of Cardiology @secardiologia, and many other organizations and citizens connected to Civil Protection.

PSAPs support

Last Tuesday, 7th February, the campaign received a great boost when all the directors of Civil Protection, and the Director of PSAP, decided to publicly endorse our proposal. I’d like to give my special thanks to @javierromaguera,  Director of 112 service in the Spanish city of Ceuta (situated in North Africa), who has backed  this initiative from the very beginning, and has introduced it to their fellow colleagues.

Social Media Back-up

As you can see, following the hastag #EdCivEmerg, hundreds of citizens are signing up to the manifesto, named ‘Civic Education and Emergencies’.

We could not have been able to obtain support from such a great number of people without the social media, including traditional media through their twitter accounts. 

European 112 day

February 11 is European 112 day. A great chance to spread the word. Help us reach  Emergency Services, once and for all, through a single phone number,  and help us save lives by training children on First Aid and Civil Defense at school.

All the members of #EdCivEmerg team , @Alfredo_112,  @pelluzo,  @CarlosMatabuena, . @danielortiz1984,  @fernanlopezmesa, . @FonsecaFj, . @igonzalezh,  @tango_alfa2, @jvarela, @Jorgeizdo, 

@ChemaCepeda,  @jldecastellvi, . @LuisSerranoR,  @marcoseguillor, @jesterhanny,  @PaolaGonzalezH,  @mrsrosaperez and myself @marialuisamoreo, an many more,  are doing our best to have our children prepared in the case of an emergency, as they are in the U.S.A, Japan, or Northern Europe, to quote a few examples. Our goal is to save lives, and that, in our opinion, should be taught at school, on a regular basis, so that citizens are able to cope in an emergency situation. 

Don’t you agree?

If you would like to sign up to our campaign, you can do so on our website www.edciviemerg.com. Here you can also read the many interviews we carried since last week.