"Dignity can not wait for better times."

"There are no scraps of men."

This is brilliant. Must watch. Thanks to Margareta Wahlström for tagging this for us and Mahmood and Alberto Cairo for doing it. May we live it.

 

 

October 13, 2013 "A Not so Obvious Conversation Living with Disability in Disasters"

Road to Sendai: Third United Nations World Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction

 

Its' official - the save the date announcement came out yesterday from the UNISDR for the Third World Conference on Disaster Reduction. So in case you have not seen it, here it is:

 

Dear partners,

Subject to an anticipated decision of the UN General Assembly later in 2013, the Third United Nations World Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction (WCDRR) is to take place in Sendai City, Miyagi Prefecture, Japan, from 14 to 18 March 2015 (five days inclusive).

Hosted by the Government of Japan in cooperation with the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNISDR), as secretariat of the International Strategy for Disaster Reduction, the WCDRR will review the implementation of the Hyogo Framework for Action and is expected to adopt a successor framework for disaster risk reduction.

The post-2015 framework for disaster risk reduction will build on the knowledge and practice developed through the implementation of the International Framework for the International Decade for Natural Disaster Reduction of 1989, the Yokohama Strategy and Plan of Action of 1994, the International Strategy for Disaster Reduction of 1999 and the Hyogo Framework for Action 2005-2015: Building the Resilience of Nations and Communities to Disasters. Pursuant to General Assembly resolution 66/199, UNISDR will continue to ensure extensive and inclusive multi-stakeholder consultations for a post-2015 framework for disaster risk reduction.

Kind regards,
UNISDR

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International Day for Disaster Reduction 2013
http://www.unisdr.org/2013/iddr

The United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNISDR)
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Global Platform for DRR 2013 - Day 2

You are in for a treat! Today was an action-packed, edge of your seat kind of day at the #GPDRR13. Report on the launch of the Global Assessment Report, a room small enough to feel like an intimate discussion with the President of the Global Risk Forum, the Chair of the Drafting Committee of the original 2005 Hyogo Framework for Action...

DRR Progress - Where are We and what about DRR Governance?
Here is Dr. Marco Ferrari, discussing DRR Governance and Government. You are very fortunate to get to hear him, in the video I will post tomorrow as well - the latest on progress in the DRR global movement and priorities, from one of the authors.

 

Read more about Dr. Ferrari at http://www.idrc.info/pages_new.php/Marco-Ferrari/1067/1/831/927/

DRM versus DRR - Yes We still need to Distinguish Them, and Clearly
Dr. Walter Amman, President and CEO of the Global Risk Forum, also spoke on DRR: Government to Governance - From Disaster Risk Management to Integrative Risk Management-the Paradigm Shift in DRR, bringing greater clarity and distinction in DRM and DRR, calling for exactly that - a paradigm shift. It seems we are not as far along as we should be, and policy makers and practitioners alike can do well to heed the wise counsel of these two leading thinkers and global leaders, Dr. Ammann and Dr. Ferrari.

 

 

 

New Knowledge & New Conceptual Models
Professor Peijun Shi gave an absolutely brilliant presentation on "Professional Management and Integrated Governance" presenting his latest thinking around DRR and governance, along with some refined conceptual models which I will share more about tomorrow. As usual, Dr. Shi from Beijing Normal University, knocked our socks off. In addition, he showed his kindness by gifting me a complete publication of the Atlas of Natural Disaster Risk of China, an amazing book. Thank you, Dr. Shi!

 

 

Priority 5 of the Children's Charter for Disaster Risk Reduction -

Prioritization of the Most Vulnerable as Expressed by a very Powerful  Advocate

 

Finally, in one of the most moving speeches I've ever heard, a Vietnamese boy and budding DRR activist with cerebral palsy shared his experience of being trapped in his parents' home in a flood, and them helping him escape... he spoke on behalf of children with disabilities and challenged the international community to urgently prioritize people with disabilities preparedness and response planning, helping them evacuate first in times of disaster. To me, listening to him was really what DRR is all about. When we launched the Charter, it was really a way to express voices and experiences like his, and it was such a privilege to hear him speak out at the GPDRR. I was told by one of the facilitators that two months ago, he had never been to school, as his parents are very poor. One day, he attended a DRR training with his father, and after the flood he wanted to help people in his village so he continued to learn about DRR, and was invited to attend the GPDRR in Geneva. If the future of DRR is informed and guided by the likes of him, it will indeed be very bright. May it be so!

For more information on the Children's Charter, see  http://www.preventionweb.net/english/professional/publications/v.php?id=19894

 

 

Panajachel Bound...

I'm back! Headed for Guatemala in 48 hours to work with NGO staff and local communities on a new multi-country DRR capacity building venture. Stay tuned! We are just beginning this journey!