Both CDP and CDRC has gone a long way in advocating CBDRM. In 1999, CDRC’s training and education desk has been instrumental in the conception and establishment of CDP, which also this year celebrates 10 years of service in promoting and developing CBDRM with communities, NGOs, national and local governments.

CDRC Celebrates 25th Year

On October 6, 2009, the Citizen’s Disaster Response Center (CDRC) celebrated its 25 years of dedicated service to the vulnerable sectors with the theme: “Dalawampu’t Limang Taong Paninilbihan at Sama-Samang Pagkilos ng Mamamayan sa Pagharap sa Kalamidad.”

Since its inception, CDRC has continuously promoted community based disaster management by enhancing peoples’ capacities and reducing their vulnerabilities through preparedness and mitigation, emergency relief, and rehabilitation programs.

CDRC’s 25th year anniversary will be a one year event — highlighting the works and achievements of CDRC and its Regional Centers through various activities like photo exhibits, fora, education festival, contests, concert and tree planting. Information and advocacy materials such as pins, t-shirts, calendars, planners, books and videos will be produced. A new website and the CDRC Resource and Training Center will be launched as well.

A thanksgiving mass was held on October 6, 2009, at the National City United Church, Times St., West Triangle Homes, Quezon City to kick off the year-long celebration.

On October 10, 2009, CDRC also organized an education festival at the Bantayog ng mga Bayani grounds in EDSA. The activity, dubbed as “Fun Day”, included educational booths for both children and adults on different topics related to disasters featuring film showing, storytelling, puppet show, educational discussion, games, etc. After the education festival, the awarding ceremony of the winners for the annual ABKD poster making contest for children and the “Name-Our-Theme-Song” contest was held.

Click here to view the CDRC 25th Year Anniversary Photo Album
Click here to view the CDRC 25th Year Concept Paper and Year-long List of Activities

Click here for the “Views from the Frontline” abridged handbook

The Center for Disaster Preparedness has been selected as the National Coordinating Organization for the “Views from the Frontline” Hyogo Framework for Action  (HFA) monitoring and review project. The project involves joint research, information sharing and learning from local initiatives in disaster risk reduction and the progress of  implementation of the Hyogo Framework for Action.  The Views from the Frontline is complementary to the Philippine Government’s report to the United Nations International Strategy for Disaster Reduction (UNISDR) with added value of the Civil Society/Non-government Organizations’ perspective and focus on local and on-the-ground activities.  The global report is to be presented to the Global Review in Geneva in June 2009.

The Views from the Frontline Project is being undertaken by the Global Network of Civil Society Organisations for Disaster Reduction with National Coordinating Organizations and Regional Coordinating Organizations.  At the Asia  regional level, the Asian Disaster Reduction and Response Network (ADRRN) is the Regional Coordinating Organization.

Your contributions to be part of this undertaking to have the actual survey work at the local level would be highly appreciated.  We want to enlist as many NGOs/civil society organisations as we can to join us in the actual survey work at the local level. Those involved in the data gathering at the local level are “Participatory Organisations” (POs).

The main role of the PO will be threefold:

1. To administer the relevant survey questionnaire with the two main respondent groups:
a. Local Government Officials
b. Civil Society Organisations

2. Hold community consultations to discuss the survey findings, draw out key recommendations and possible joint actions between the various stakeholders.

3. Bring back to the national level the surveys for consolidation and analysis.

The PO will need to implement the surveys and consultations in close coordination with the Center for Disaster Preparedness as the NCO. Each of the questionnaires will take approximately 20 minutes to complete and will be undertaken by the POs with the different respondent groups on a voluntary basis.

Partnership and ownership at the local level is crucial to achieving the project objectives and outcomes. Bringing the concerns and interests of vulnerable communities into the heart of DRR policy and practice requires us close the gap between local, national and global work, and between policy advocates and practitioners at the grassroots level. The production of solid evidence, based on local realities, is critical for developing policy positions from which we can engage in the national, regional and international policy discourse.

The more NGOs and civil society organisations we have in this data gathering process the more effective will be our work. There is probably no more compelling form of exerting influence over policy formulation and implementation than the collective force of large numbers of different civil society organisations and NGOs from different regions of the world, who share common concerns and are united in a collective action to build disaster resilient communities.

Kindly pass on this invitation to other NGOs / CSO with presence at the local level.  Academic and research institutions, national and local NGOs, faith-based organizations, community-level groups and associations, people’s organizations are all welcome to join this initiative.

CDP attended a training workshop with ADRRN on how to carry forward the Views from the Frontline Project in the Philippines in Kuala Lumpur on 5-6 December 2008. Subsequently, a training workshop will be held on December 8, 2008 for Participating Organizations in Manila.

This project and initiative is being coordinated by the Center for Disaster Preparedness (CDP) in partnership with  the Regional Coordinating Organization – Asian Disaster Reduction and Relief Network (ADRRN) and the Global Network of Civil Society Organizations for Disaster Reduction.

For more information please contact Ms Lorna Victoria (Vice President, CDP) at oyvictoria@yahoo.com or cdp@info.com.ph

Reference Documents:

VIEWS FROM THE FRONTLINE
(pdf version, click to view or download)

Views from the Frontline – Abridged Handbook for Participating Organizations

Annex 1: Letter 1 – Presentation
Annex 2: Letter 2 – Reminder
Annex 3: Guiding Checklist of CSO Categories
Annex 4: Questionnaire for Local Government (Senior Officials)
Annex 5: Questionnaire for Local Government (Planning Officials)
Annex 6: Questionnaire for Local Government (Education)
Annex 7: Questionnaire for Civil Society
Annex 8: Questionnaire for Community Representatives
Annex 9: Management Sheets
Annex 10: Evaluation Template Local Community Consultations
Annex 11: Local Community Consultation Feedback Questionnaire

Bangladeshi study tour participants at DILG

A Study Tour participated in by nine senior government officials from different line agencies in Bangladesh, and one representative of the European Commission in Bangladesh was held in the Philippines from April 11-15, 2009.  The study tour was conducted through the partnership of the Center for Disaster Preparedness (CDP) Philippines, and the Comprehensive Disaster Management Programme (CDMP), and aimed to impart learnings and lessons about  the disaster risk management systems that were set-up in different levels for disaster response, so that possible replication of effective approaches and strategies in Bangladesh context could be explored.

This  initiative was brought forth through the Earthquake and Tsunami/Storm Surge Preparedness component of the Comprehensive Disaster Management Programme (CDMP) which aims to facilitate the preparation of earthquake risk assessments, contingency plans and education programme within Dhaka, Chittagong and Sylhet cities in Bangladesh. The component also plans to undertake an extensive risk and vulnerability assessment of coastal areas to increase awareness and improve response management systems for coastal dwellers against the impact of storm surge and tsunami. One of its objectives is to inculcate a better understanding among decision makers, disaster professionals and elected representatives about mitigatory measures against earthquake and other urban disaster. CDMP has designed this study tour for disaster managers to make them more aware about earthquake and other urban disaster preparedness activities that have been undertaken by different agencies in the Philippines and Thailand. The study tour is facilitated by the Center for Disaster Preparedness (CDP), and the Asian Disaster Preparedness Centre (ADPC), in Philippines and Thailand, respectively.

The study tour in the Philippines was headed by Honorable Secretary Md. Mokhlesur Rahman of the Ministry of Food and Disaster Management (MoFDM).  On the first day of the study tour, the group went to Dagupan, Pangasinan where Bangladeshi officials had a chance to witness the early warning system conducted in the area and also met the city mayor. The following days of the study tour was held in Manila, where the participants were able to visit the Office of Civil Defense / National Disaster Coordinating Council (OCD-NDCC), Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG), Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (PHILVOLCS),  Department of Education (DepEd) and cities of  Makati and Marikina.

The participants and representatives of government agencies in the Philippines had a very fruitful discussion and sharing on good practices and approaches in Disaster Risk Management.  The participants also expressed enthusiasm to share the learning and experiences they gained for possible  replication in their country. Moreover, the Senior Government Officials of Bangladesh also commented on the fact that women seemed to be truly empowered in the Philippines, an observation resulting from their meetings and encounters with women leaders during the entire study  tour.

Click here to view Photos of the Study Tour or the CDP Photo Gallery.

The InterChurch Organization for development Cooperation (ICCO) and Kerk in Actie based in The Netherlands organized an exchange visit in the Philippines from November 17-30, 2008, to enhance the capacities of their partner organizations in Indonesia, Central America and Afghanistan in community based disaster risk management.  The Center for Disaster Preparedness (CDP) facilitated the CBDRM Training cum study visit.  The first part of the program was a four-day training on CBDRM wherein participants were introduced to the concept of CBDRM and how this practice evolved in the Philippine context.  An actual Risk Assessment was done in Buklod Tao in Banaba, San Mateo, Rizal.

Click here to view photos of the study visit.

DRM Training and Study Visit in Coordination with DepEd  with the Maldives Teachers
March 23-28, 2009

The Center for Disaster Preparedness (CDP) conducted the disaster risk management  training for school administrators and teachers from Maldives from March 23 – 28, 2009. Aside from the latest framework and concepts for mainstreaming disaster risk management in the education center, good practices from  Philippines and international experiences were shared.  The Department of Education gave inputs on its integration of DRM in the curriculum and its school safety programs and facilitated study visit to 2 schools.  DepEd   Undersecretary Antonio A. Inocentes  was guest of honor for the  Closing Activities.  The training was arranged by the Education Development Center of the Ministry of Education of the Republic of Maldives with funding support from UNDP-Maldives.

Click here to view photos of the study visit.

Part 2 of the CBDRM TLC Writeshop will be held on December 8, 2008, this time back-to-back with the Training for the “Views from the Frontline: HFA Progress Monitoring” in the Philippines. Click here to view the Workshop Reports covering the 2-day Writeshop as well as that of the back-to-back event “2nd National Community Conference in CBDRM”.

Incidentally, the ONLINE COMMUNITY FORUM of the CBDRM Training and Learning Circile – Phils  is now available at the CDP website. Most of the documents  which can be viewed and downloaded in the forum were presented during the CBDRM TLC-Phils. Writeshop to Address Gaps in  CBDRM Training – Related  Materials in the Philippines. Cases on Institutionalizing (CB)DRM in curriculum and programs of higher learning and training institutions will be featured shortly.  Now available in the forum is the Case coming from the Camarines School State Agricultural College in Pili which has started with its MS in DRM last June 2008.

It is also the anniversary of the CBDRM TLC whereabout, the first workshop to launch the CBDRM TLC-Phils. was held Dec. 14, 2007 at the Asian Institute of Management following workshop with UNDP from India, Indonesia, Sri Lanks, Maldives, the Asian Disaster Preparedness Center, ProVention Consortium, CADRI, South-South Cooperation Unit in UNDP RCB, and PACT.

There is an ongoing demand for evidence based, context specific, up-to-date, and applied Community Based Disaster Risk Reduction tools and resources for mainstreaming and institutionalizing Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) through training and education in Asia. However the lack of interface between training and educaton often leads to uneven quality of training inputs and scarcity of relevant educational resources. As a result, the multi-faceted demand for tools and resources remains partially unmet.

Although practitioners and trainers from small and medium sized community organizations are the original owners of the CBDRR approachers in Asia, their innovations in training and education too often strave and dismantle without additional learning inputs and appropriate incentives for being innovative. This is true for academics and institutions that capture, develop, and disseminate knowledge on CBDRR. The concept of a Training and Learning Circle (TLC) is organized to address the persistent challenge.

Purpose

To enhance learning thorough South-South knowledge and solution exchanges by focussing on addressing systemic gaps and topics in training and education that would benefit from a sector-wide approach as opposed to a sinle agency approach.

Key Objectives

• Review content, method and impact of key training initiatives by TLC partners and other leading training institutions to identidy gaps and address emerging need for developing new training materials for wider use and practice.
• Organize and create a circle of selected training practitioners to develop and host a web-based inventory of trainers, training institutions and training related tools and resources such as training manuals, needs assessments, and impact studies.
• Promote CBDRR among selected universitiesm learning centers and training institutes for adoptionas one of the regular courses the are offering.
• Facilitate interactive learning mechanisms and exhanges / sharing of expriences, practices, researchs, conceptsm methodologies and tools in training and education for application of community-centered disaster risk reduction.

Key Activities

• Conduct a review / impact study of CBDRR trainings and develop learning materials to address gaps
• Encircle a pool of key Trainers in Asia and link them with a web-based multi-hazard, multi-level, and multi-method training resource inventory for Asia.
• Set-up a Working Group of selected universities, conduct a scoping study, and develop guidelines for universities to institutionalize CBDRR.
• Organize Trainers’ Pool Forum in the Philippines and Sri Lanka and organize a regional workshop for universities.

Key Outcomes

• Results of the review / impact study of CBDRM training are made available to all the relevant stakeholders and two publications disseminated.
• Pool of trainers organized to continue discourses and sharing of tools and techniques in facilitation and to contribute to the development of training materials in a collaborative way.
• Web-based training resource inventory of Asia is launched and is made available to trainers and learners to use.
• Working group of universities in Asia is formed and a guidelines for institutionalizing CBDRM in universities is produced.
• Forums and workshops organized for promotion and application of CBDRR and for interactive South-South learning exchange among institutions, centers and individual trainers.

Promoters of TLC

• Provention Consotium Secretariat
• Asian Disaster Preparedness Center
• The Special Unit for South-South Cooperation in UNDP Regional Center in Bangkok, Thailand (lead)
• Center for Disaster Preparedness in the Philippines
• All India Disaster Mitigation Institute

Interested individuals, trainers and training institutions / civil society organizations with training capacities are invited to share their experience and expertise in Asia through the TLC. Academic institutions and universities from across Asia are invited to join efforts with the TLC. Also encouraged to join are authorities with interest in promoting learning about risk management. Investors in such action learning projects including donor communities are welcome.The project will also involve and seek advice of existing disaster riks reduction networks such as Duryog Nivaran, Asian Disaster Reduction Center and the Asdian Disaster Reduction and Response Network (ADRRN).

Getting Involved

There are a number of ways to get involved with the TLC:

• If you are a trainer / training institution or a university working in Asia kindly send an expression of interest to the Center for Disaster Preparedness (CDP) in the Philippines; or All India Disaster Mitigation Institute.

In order to avail full membership / place in the Asia-wide inventory of trainers and training tools / methodology, you may:

• Write a 3,000-word paper on innovations on CBDRR training based on your training and its impact, or
• Submit electronic copies of training materials and methods used to train people in CBDRR.

Click here to register online to join the CBDRM TLC.
Click here to view/download the CBDRM TLC Philippines brochure.

For more information, please contact cdp@info.com.ph