COMMUNICATION IN THE DOMŽALE MUNICIPALITY DURING THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC

Abstract

Communication has great impact on the success of the response of different organizations and institutions to the consequences of a crisis. In a time of crisis, communication must ensure the flow of information within and between organizations, and between organizations and the different publics. An analysis of communication in the Domžale municipality during the first declaration of the pandemic in the country showed that the representatives of the municipality, its civil protection and the operational team communicated between themselves and with other actors dealing with the crisis in an active and timely manner, all while relying mainly on modern technologies. Nevertheless, the results of the analysis point to certain communication issues between the national level and the Municipality, since the latter had to rectify the communication slips of state institutions in its community on a number of occasions. The Civil Protection Headquarters of the Domžale municipality therefore proposed the formation of a single crisis portal at the Administration of the Republic of Slovenia for Civil Protection and Disaster Relief. In the event of disasters and other crises, such a portal would serve as a platform for publishing up-to-date information, notification and guidance. The representatives of the municipality communicated with the local community in a proactive, open and coordinated way, and have been credible and successful in doing so, especially in the use of social media. In this way, the municipal authorities influenced the interpretation of the pandemic, its consequences and their management before the social and media construction of crisis could appear.