The Estonian Rescue Board plans to run marketing and communications campaigns aimed at achieving its goal of ensuring that at least 30 percent of individuals have reached a basic level of crisis preparedness by 2030.

The effort is also intended to help reduce the number of fire, water and explosion-related accidents, as well as the damage they cause, to the lowest possible level.

According to the Rescue Board, its role is to ensure that Estonia is prepared for crises and that accidents occur as rarely as possible. In practical terms, this means residents should have adequate emergency supplies, crisis plans in place and the knowledge needed to respond to extreme weather events and cope safely during emergencies.

"A safe living environment means fire, water, explosion and chemical safety in public spaces, businesses, the natural environment and homes. To achieve this, a range of preventive activities covering the entire human life cycle are carried out. Among other things, various public awareness campaigns are implemented," the agency said.

To carry out the campaigns, the Rescue Board is seeking a partner with whom it will sign a framework agreement worth up to €1.3 million. However, the agency is not obligated to order services up to that full amount and will use the agreement according to its needs.

As its first project, the Rescue Board plans to commission a campaign titled "Ready for Autumn Storms," one of at least four campaigns focused on the launch of the olevalmis.ee website and on risks associated with climate change. The campaign is scheduled to begin in September of this year and has a budget of €75,000, plus value-added tax.

"With the comprehensive launch campaign for olevalmis.ee, we want to highlight potential extreme weather events caused by climate change and establish olevalmis.ee as the primary trusted source of information for people in Estonia when preparing for crises, reducing information overload and confusion between different channels and sources," the agency said.

The website, which is co-financed by the EU Cohesion Fund, will include a map displaying weather information and warnings, sea levels, fire-risk areas, information on hazardous enterprises and similar data. It will also offer crisis-preparedness training for residents through both online and in-person courses. In addition, olevalmis.ee will display EE-Alarm notifications.

While the website already exists, it is still under development and does not yet include all planned features. The agency said all additions should be completed by the time the campaign begins.

The Rescue Board plans to use television, outdoor advertising, print media, radio, social media and influencers as campaign channels. The agency separately noted that it is not permitted to use TikTok and does not plan to purchase advertising on the platform. However, content creators participating in the campaign are welcome to use their own TikTok channels.

In addition, the Rescue Board plans two more campaigns this fall: one on crisis preparedness in October and another on smoke detectors and fire safety in November.

The agency also hopes to reach Russian-speaking residents and, where necessary, English-speaking residents. Campaign materials will be designed to be accessible to people with hearing and visual impairments.

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