Community Initiative Society (CIS) and Asia Pacific Alliance for Disaster Management (A-PAD) jointly organised an international symposium on “Supporting Improvised Communities in Emergency Management Using Diversity and Inclusion” in the city on Tuesday (November 7, 2023).
The event took place at the auditorium of Dhaka Community Medical College in Dhaka. Experiences on disaster risk management were shared at the event. Engagement of multi-sector platform for disaster management in Bangladesh was also discussed.
The symposium was held in connection with “Capacity Building Project for the establishment and Sustainable Management of a Multi-sector Platform for Disaster Management in Bangladesh” which is being jointly implemented by CIS and A-PAD.
This international symposium was held to focus on Diverse and inclusive emergency management practices build trust and credibility within communities.
When individuals from various backgrounds are involved in the decision-making process, community members are more likely to feel heard, respected, and understood.
The symposium will cover a discussion on the importance, challenge, risk factor, future framework, and role of Diversity and inclusion in Disaster Risk Management for Building Community Resilience and Sustainable Disaster Management.
IWAMA Kiminori, Japanese Ambassador to Bangladesh, was present at the event as chief guest. He appreciated the overall programmes arranged by the A-PAD Bangladesh.
He discussed on the collaborative contribution of Japan & Bangladesh government for disaster management and the understanding of disaster risk reduction and climate change adaptation to disaster prone community.
Kensuke Onishi, Chief Executive Officer of Asia Pacific Alliance for Disaster Management (A-PAD; gave an overview of A-PAD activities on South-Asia region.
Nobutaka Miyahara, Senior Advisor, Asia Pacific Alliance for Disaster Management (A-PAD) praised the activities of CIS running in 7 divisions of Bangladesh and also admired the particular initiations for Disaster Risk Management (DRM) and emergency responses in different target areas of Bangladesh.
Saber Hossain Chowdhury, MP, a former president of Inter-Parliamentary Union; gave a video messages on multi sector involvement for sustainable development.
Prof. Mahmuder Rahman, Coordinator of Dhaka Community Hospital Trust; discussed on comprehensive participation of Govt. NGOs & other private organisations for DRR & sustainable development.
Prof Quazi Quamruzzaman, Chairman, CIS, A-PAD & DCHT shared his experiences on DRM and discussed on role of community in DRM sector.
The citable panelists of the symposium were Kensuke Onishi, Chief Executive Officer of Asia Pacific Alliance for Disaster Management (A-PAD), Sinta Kaniawati, Director, Global Partnership, A-PAD, Assistant Professor Dr. Tanjina Ahmed Chaklader, DCMC, Prof. Abu Saleh Monirul Alam, Principal, DCMC, Md Golam Mostofa, Executive Director, CIS, and other participants of the symposium were from the International and Local Platforms including from A-PAD member countries, Universities, NGOs and stakeholders from Government of Bangladesh, A-PAD partners, private Sectors, civil society and members of CIS & DCH Trust. The international symposium was moderated by Sadia Samad Mou.
The 3-hours long symposium ended with a vote of thanks. The participants were interactive and also vowed to bring about a change in the situation. Overall, there was an atmosphere to establish a Disaster Risk Reduction Network among various stakeholders and sharing experiences on disaster risk management.
