Preparing for the Unexpected: Why Media Matters in Times of Disaster | Kirsty Cockburn | TEDxBristol

In April 2015 Kirsty Cockburn found herself in the middle of one of the most devastating natural disasters of recent times, when the ground shook beneath her feet and she witnessed the magnitude 7.8 earthquake in Kathmandu in Nepal.

Thankfully Kirsty survived to tell her story, but hundreds of thousands of people around the world are still suffering as a result of natural disasters. Kirsty’s hope is that by sharing her mission to improve ‘lifeline’ communications in times of crisis, and of course by sharing her TEDxBristol talk, we can help save lives and change the outcomes of the world’s most vulnerable people for the better.

This talk is from TEDxBristol 2015 Great Expectations: looking towards a future we can dare to expect more from.


Our talks were edited by a brilliant team of talented volunteers:

Richard da Costa
Ben Scrase
Gabriella Zagni
Ellie Markwick
Mark Phippen
Ash Farkas
Helen Stenner
Composer: Matthew Pearson

Kirsty Cockburn is the Director of Communications and Fundraising at BBC Media Action, an international charity that uses radio, TV and social media to help improve people’s lives in the world’s poorest countries.

Kirsty’s passion for social justice has taken her around the world where she has worked as a journalist and as an aid worker for most of her life and knows first-hand the powerful role that media and communication can play in enabling people to access reliable, useful and timely information.

[francismausley]

Prayer helped me... "On the appearance of fearful natural events call ye to mind the might and majesty of your Lord, He Who heareth and seeth all, and say "Dominion is God's, the Lord of the seen and the unseen, the Lord of creation". ~Baha'u'llah