Usually, awareness rising campaigns targets a specific audience. However, regarding the UFO issue, the goal is to raise the awareness of the world’s population and protect people’s mental wellbeing. What are some challenges?
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In a previous article, I argued that a gradual strengthening of a sense of coherence is necessary to increase people’s ability to comprehend, cope with, and make information about the UFO issue and its existential implications meaningful. In the end, the gradual strengthening would likely increase people’s trust in each other, both within and between societies (because the UFO issue would act as a mirror and make us reflect about what really matters in life). One central point with a gradual strengthening of a sense of coherence (SOC) is to decrease anxiety and depression on an individual level and polarization on a societal level. In short, to protect and/or maintain people’s mental and emotional wellbeing.
Like in other public awareness campaigns, there are many questions to consider for the strategy to be as effective as possible (you should define what a successful outcome would be and how you can measure it). Since raising the awareness of the UFO issue is somewhat different compared to other causes, I will list three main questions, or challenges, that are specific for raising the awareness of the UFO issue:
- What information about the UFO issue is, to a high degree of certainty, accurate? At the moment, a major problem with the UFO phenomenon is the gaps in our knowledge about “what/who”, “intent”, “from where”, and so on. What we can say without a shadow of doubt is that the UFO phenomenon is real. Thus, question (1) is about what information about the UFO issue is relevant, or appropriate, to share with the world’s population, and when (timing is everything). This is more of an empirical issue than ethical (even though there are many and difficult ethical dilemmas embedded in question (1), which are outside the purpose of this article).
- This question relates to the previous one: How can inadequate information about the UFO issue strengthen people’s sense of coherence? I believe the answer is that it suffices to raise the awareness of the reality of the UFO phenomenon and that someone- or something is visiting earth. Currently, a miniscule portion of the world’s population is aware of and/or care about the UFO issue. Thus, the goal of the public awareness campaign is to reach a larger portion of the world’s population and make people realise the significance of the fact that the UFO phenomenon is real.
- In the social sciences, we know that regional and local leaders are more effective in spreading information and raising awareness in communities. But with the UFO issue, it would probably be necessary with a global authority/institution as the main player accountable for coordinating and disseminating UFO-information. Thus, the main question here is, what authority has the capability and the people’s trust to take on this Herculean challenge? A global hub for credible and public UFO-information, do not exclude regional efforts. However, the point and importance of a global player would be the accountability of the veracity of the public UFO-information (yes, the next question is who should decide what data is credible and relevant to share publicly).
The biggest challenge is, perhaps, to decide what data on the UFO issue is credible and relevant to share with the world’s population, and who should decide what data is credible and relevant?
Now, regarding the model of the awareness rising campaign and ways of communication, there is no need to reinvent the wheel. There are many more or less successful examples, from civil right movements to raising awareness about climate change. Although it is difficult to measure the effectiveness of awareness raising campaigns as there are few outcome indicators, frequently conducted qualitative and quantitative surveys can provide valuable insights. Therefore, I believe a project for social scientists (perhaps mainly for sociologists and psychologists) would be to conduct surveys before, during, and after the awareness rising of the UFO issue. The purpose of the surveys should be to measure and evaluate the level of people’s comprehensibility, manageability, and meaningfulness (that is, sense of coherence) related to the information about the UFO issue and its existential implications.
Because the main points with the awareness rising of the UFO issue are to reach a larger portion of the world’s population than today and protect/maintain people’s wellbeing. The latter would decrease the likelihood of polarization and conflict within and between groups, societies, and cultures, and increase the likelihood of a global and uniting conversation about “what the UFO issue means for me, my family, country, and humanity?”
Last, the reason I wrote this and the previous article is because the educational phase, ongoing since December 2017, of the reality of the UFO phenomenon does not seem to be effective enough. Most people in the part of the world where I live (Northern Europe), are either unaware of the greater official transparency of the UFO issue in the U.S. or they are too busy living their everyday lives to care about the existential implications of the UFO issue. The latter is understandable and expected.
That is one reason the educational phase needs to become more systematized, intentional, and scaled up. The next, and most important, challenge is to support the world’s population to make the UFO-information meaningful in a way that promotes community and collaboration rather than division and conflict.
Now, regarding the model of the awareness rising campaign and ways of communication, there is no need to reinvent the wheel. There are many more or less successful examples, from civil right movements to raising awareness about climate change. Although it is difficult to measure the effectiveness of awareness raising campaigns as there are few outcome indicators, frequently conducted qualitative and quantitative surveys can provide valuable insights. Therefore, I believe a project for social scientists (perhaps mainly for sociologists and psychologists) would be to conduct surveys before, during, and after the awareness rising of the UFO issue. The purpose of the surveys should be to measure and evaluate the level of people’s comprehensibility, manageability, and meaningfulness (that is, sense of coherence) related to the information about the UFO issue and its existential implications.
Because the main points with the awareness rising of the UFO issue are to reach a larger portion of the world’s population than today and protect/maintain people’s wellbeing. The latter would decrease the likelihood of polarization and conflict within and between groups, societies, and cultures, and increase the likelihood of a global and uniting conversation about “what the UFO issue means for me, my family, country, and humanity?”
Last, the reason I wrote this and the previous article is because the educational phase, ongoing since December 2017, of the reality of the UFO phenomenon does not seem to be effective enough. Most people in the part of the world where I live (Northern Europe), are either unaware of the greater official transparency of the UFO issue in the U.S. or they are too busy living their everyday lives to care about the existential implications of the UFO issue. The latter is understandable and expected.
That is one reason the educational phase needs to become more systematized, intentional, and scaled up. The next, and most important, challenge is to support the world’s population to make the UFO-information meaningful in a way that promotes community and collaboration rather than division and conflict.
Take care!
J. T
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