From 9th to 10th May, the JOIN Working Group for PR, Marketing, and Communication met in Valletta. St John Malta hosted representatives from Austria, Denmark, England, Germany, the Netherlands, Switzerland, the JOIN Board and the JOIN Office.
After a presentation of St John Malta as the newest JOIN member, participants discussed their communication on COVID-19 related activities as well as their joint efforts in support of Ukraine. St John Ambulance shared their England-wide Communication and Media Volunteers Initiative, informing the participants about the work, training and management of St John volunteers who communicate locally. The International Office of the Order of St John introduced its Global Strategy to increase the impact of its work and understanding of the Order’s global status as well as facilitate collaboration on operational levels. Following an update on the Charity Cooperation Group of the Orders of St John, participants shared practices of political communication. The working group evaluated the individual communication activities on the first aid learning materials for children and guidance for teachers, published on World Health Day 2021, and the JOIN Office gave insights on the developments within the other working groups. Johanniter Germany presented its follow-up communication on the Anti-Gawping Campaign, which was launched in 2021 with great media resonance.
The second day of the meeting started with reports and updates of the members on individual projects such as Johanniter Nederland’s app for volunteers who accompany people on organised holiday trips. After the JOIN Office presented its websites and the Annual Review 2021, the group discussed social media strategies and the Volunteer Swap. An overview of the MED1stMR project was presented to the working group and participants addressed communication on European level. Updates on the member’s Corporate Design and the rebranding campaign by Johanniter Germany formed the closing topic of the meeting.
