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Press and Media

The Press, Media and Reputation department is accountable for all media and press relations through managing spokespersons, initiating and coordinating press conferences, press releases, briefings, trips and media events. The department’s overall objective is to position War Child as an internationally acknowledged expert on children affected by armed conflict, able to influence key stakeholders and contribute to our mission.

War Child appeared in at least 2,481 offline publications (2,311 newspapers, 169 magazines) and more than 2,000 online publications over the course of 2016, in addition to many items on national television and radio. War Child sent out 23 press releases, which were received by hundreds of War Child’s media contacts.

During the year War Child was present in leading national media outlets such as NOS Journaal, NOS Jeugdjournaal, EenVandaag, RTL Boulevard, RTL Live, KidsTop20, ZAPP Live, ZAPP Weekjournaal Koffietijd, Nu.nl, Algemeen Dagblad, Trouw, Telegraaf, Metro, Radio 1 & 2 & 5, BNR, FunX, OneWorld, ELLE and Kidsweek. In addition, War Child was present in many regional and local media outlets. This free publicity focused both on our work (content-driven) and War Child fundraising actions.

The content topics covered emphasised War Child’s expert role in supporting conflict-affected children - in line with our strategic move towards becoming a ‘Networked Expert Organisation’. Aspects of our work covered during the year included: TeamUp - our project for child refugees in Dutch asylum reception centres; the outbreak of violence in South Sudan; our e-learning initiative Can’t Wait to Learn; and the impact of war on children in Syria. Our Research and Development department also saw four peer-reviewed articles published in leading academic outlets.

In addition, we received significant attention for our television show in June, the announcement of our new Goodwill Ambassadors, the VIP premiere of our school musical and the Kili Challenge.

We also made our voice heard through opinion articles in Trouw (1) and OneWorld (2). In 2016 War Child organised press trips to the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), South Sudan and Uganda (where we were joined by Kidsclub ambassador Quinty Misiedjan) which resulted in media exposure in outlets including Algemeen Dagblad, Trouw, OneWorld, RTL Live, ZAPP Live, ZAPP Weekjournaal, Radio5 and Aftonbladet (Sweden’s biggest newspaper). Photographer Daniel Maissan was one of the participants in our press trips and his work is still used frequently in our communications.

The equivalent total media value for presence in offline publications was more than €6.5 million. Most of the media visibility had a positive or neutral tone of voice. Analysing the media performances in 2016, War Child would like to continue its presence in 2017 in leading national media by being responsive to news topics relevant to our work with conflict-affected children.