World Vision co-organizes Philippines’ first national disaster resilience summit
As part of its commitment to protect children from the impact of disasters, and to create a safe and responsive community, World Vision is co-organizing the country’s first disaster resilience summit at the Novotel Manila, Araneta Center, Cubao, Quezon City on July 30 – 31, 2019.
With the theme “A Whole-of-Society Approach: On the Road to Resilience,” the event highlights the importance of coherence, synergy and collaboration among government and all stakeholders aligned with the targets of Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction (SFDRR) and Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). It is also expected to result to consolidated recommendations for ways forward through a Declaration of Commitment for the integration and mainstreaming of Philippine DRRM System, the National Climate Change Action Plan for the achievement of the over-arching goal of disaster resilience.
“We have been doing a lot of good things in the past years in terms of resilience building. Bringing all these gains towards pursuing SFDRR and SDGs together, learning from these to improve the way we do things will help us further our goal. Cohesion amongst different stakeholders will also deepen our impact, especially on the most vulnerable children and their communities,” shares World Vision’s Executive Director Rommel V. Fuerte.
WVDF National Director, Rommel V. Fuerte, was one of the panelists during the Day1 of the summit.
Over six hundred participants from all over the country are participating in the two-day event. Plenary and working sessions emphasize multi-stakeholders’ strategies, innovations that can be replicated. World Vision partners, including sponsored child Christian will also share their experiences on child-focused disaster risk reduction, child-focused communicating with communities, local initiatives on DRRM, and community-managed savings and credit association.
“It’s empowering to be here and have a platform where we, children, can also discuss the gains of our communities as result of children’s inclusion in the discussions that concern us,” shares Christian who hails from Misamis Occidental. Christian is an active child leader in his community and has been participating in different DRRM initiatives, including the National Consultation with Children and Youth on Disaster Risk Reduction which gathered youth voices for the Asian Ministerial Conference for Disaster Risk Reduction (AMCDRR)’s 8th year held in Ulaanbatar, Mongolia.
The summit is a culmination of the National Resilience Month, led by the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council, through its executive arm Office of Civil Defense, along with its partners Disaster Risk Reduction Network Philippines (DRRNetPhils), Philippine Disaster Resilience Foundation (PDRF), Philippine Preparedness Partnership (PhilPrep), Assistance and Cooperation for Community Resilience and Development (ACCORD) and the National Resilience Council (NRC).
Christian, a World Vision child leader from Misamis Occidental, is excited to be part of the event. He is also a DRR advocate in his community.
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