GAR 2015 Main Report

140

Part II - Chapter 7

correspond to the short cycles of projects aimed at raising risk awareness in schools. On the other hand, the generic and global guidance in the HFA is often difficult to align to the sub-national contexts where curricula are often developed.

However, about 72 per cent of countries reporting through the HFA Monitor indicate that disaster risk reduction is included in some way in the national educational curriculum, with coverage in primary school curricula slightly higher than in secondary and university or professional programmes. Only about a third were able to report on the inclusion of disaster risk reduction in curricula at all education levels as well as in professional education programmes ( GAR 13 paper

UNICEF and UNESCO, 2014

UNICEF (United Nations Children Fund) and UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization). 2014,Advances and continuing challenges towards HFA2 AND Post-2015: Background chapter, Background Paper prepared for the 2015 Global Assessment Report on Disaster Risk Reduction. Geneva, Switzerland: UNISDR..
Click here to view this GAR paper.

While there is little systematic research on changing perceptions, anecdotal evidence shows that preparedness drills and simulation activities in schools (Box 7.5) may make an important contribution to risk awareness, particularly amongst children and youths.

Children’s engagement in school disaster management, including risk assessment and active problem-solving, lays the foundation for critical thinking and promotes an increasing willingness to take on other challenges. Engaging students and families in planning for educational continuity may also be a factor in reducing school drop-out rates when disasters occur ( GAR 13 paper

UNICEF and UNESCO, 2014

Rather than promoting disaster risk reduction as a stand-alone curricular subject, there are obvious synergies in combining it with related subjects, such as climate change. For example, Cambodia is promoting a combined disaster risk reduction and climate change adaptation curriculum that reduces the pressure on what is seen as an already overcrowded school curriculum. There are other examples where disaster risk reduction has been linked with topics like conflict and peace-building, sustainable development, other common localized risks, and with the underlying social, economic and political drivers of risk. Unfortunately the silo-like nature of the disaster risk management sector and institutional rivalries with other sectors such as climate change may be obstacles to this sort of integration.

Box 7.5 The role of children in strengthening preparedness

The United States and Australia have developed educational materials that foster leadership among school children in disaster preparedness and teach them how to share this information with others. Looking at children as active agents of change instead of objects that need to be protected can broaden the scope of education and its future impact. Several programmes have been developed in order to develop children’s awareness of and capacities for DRR, such as Save the Children’s school safety programmes or the Children’s Charter for Disaster Risk Reduction (Children in a Changing Climate Coalition, 2011

Children in a Changing Climate Coalition. 2011,Children and Disasters: Understanding Impact and Enabling Agency, Research Report authored by Fran Seballos, Marcela Tarazona, Jose Gallegos and Thomas Tanner. May 2011. Brighton: Institute of Development Studies.. .

).

In France, The Memo’Risks initiative has been operating in the Loire River catchment area since 2004 and brings together local governments and schools to survey local disaster risk awareness (UNISDR et al., 2010

UNISDR, ITC-ILO (International Training Center - International Labour Organization), UNDP (United Nations Development Programme). 2010,Local Governments and Disaster Risk Reduction, Good practices and Lessons Learned: A contribution to the “Making Cities Resilient” Campaign, Contribution to the “Making Cities Resilient” Campaign 2010-2011. Geneva.. .

). Students are rallied by local mayors to investigate and map risks and to survey the preparedness and risk knowledge of the local population. The survey results then become a valuable data resource on perceptions of risk and levels of risk knowledge in the local population. The process of collecting, presenting and publicizing the results is used by local government to raise disaster awareness through the media, to increase community participation in disaster risk reduction, and to form the basis of targeted disaster risk information campaigns (ibid.).4

	140 Part II - Chapter 7 correspond to the short cycles of projects aimed at raising risk awareness in schools. On the other hand, the generic and global guidance in the HFA is often difficult to align to the sub-national contexts where curricula are often developed. However, about 72 per cent of countries reporting through the HFA Monitor indicate that disaster risk reduction is included in some way in the national educational curriculum, with coverage in primary school curricula slightly higher than in secondary and university or professional programmes. Only about a third were able to report on the inclusion of disaster risk reduction in curricula at all education levels as well as in professional education programmes (UNICEF and UNESCO, 2014 x UNICEF (United Nations Children Fund) and UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization). 2014,Advances and continuing challenges towards HFA2 AND Post-2015: Background chapter, Background Paper prepared for the 2015 Global Assessment Report on Disaster Risk Reduction. Geneva, Switzerland: UNISDR.. Click here to view this GAR paper. ). While there is little systematic research on changing perceptions, anecdotal evidence shows that preparedness drills and simulation activities in schools (Box 7.5) may make an important contribution to risk awareness, particularly amongst children and youths. Children’s engagement in school disaster management, including risk assessment and active problem-solving, lays the foundation for critical thinking and promotes an increasing willingness to take on other challenges. Engaging students and families in planning for educational continuity may also be a factor in reducing school drop-out rates when disasters occur (UNICEF and UNESCO, 2014 x UNICEF (United Nations Children Fund) and UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization). 2014,Advances and continuing challenges towards HFA2 AND Post-2015: Background chapter, Background Paper prepared for the 2015 Global Assessment Report on Disaster Risk Reduction. Geneva, Switzerland: UNISDR.. Click here to view this GAR paper. ). Rather than promoting disaster risk reduction as a stand-alone curricular subject, there are obvious synergies in combining it with related subjects, such as climate change. For example, Cambodia is promoting a combined disaster risk reduction and climate change adaptation curriculum that reduces the pressure on what is seen as an already overcrowded school curriculum. There are other examples where disaster risk reduction has been linked with topics like conflict and peace-building, sustainable development, other common localized risks, and with the underlying social, economic and political drivers of risk. Unfortunately the silo-like nature of the disaster risk management sector and institutional rivalries with other sectors such as climate change may be obstacles to this sort of integration. Box 7.5 The role of children in strengthening preparedness The United States and Australia have developed educational materials that foster leadership among school children in disaster preparedness and teach them how to share this information with others. Looking at children as active agents of change instead of objects that need to be protected can broaden the scope of education and its future impact. Several programmes have been developed in order to develop children’s awareness of and capacities for DRR, such as Save the Children’s school safety programmes or the Children’s Charter for Disaster Risk Reduction (Children in a Changing Climate Coalition, 2011 x Children in a Changing Climate Coalition. 2011,Children and Disasters: Understanding Impact and Enabling Agency, Research Report authored by Fran Seballos, Marcela Tarazona, Jose Gallegos and Thomas Tanner. May 2011. Brighton: Institute of Development Studies.. . ). In France, The Memo’Risks initiative has been operating in the Loire River catchment area since 2004 and brings together local governments and schools to survey local disaster risk awareness (UNISDR et al., 2010 x UNISDR, ITC-ILO (International Training Center - International Labour Organization), UNDP (United Nations Development Programme). 2010,Local Governments and Disaster Risk Reduction, Good practices and Lessons Learned: A contribution to the “Making Cities Resilient” Campaign, Contribution to the “Making Cities Resilient” Campaign 2010-2011. Geneva.. . ). Students are rallied by local mayors to investigate and map risks and to survey the preparedness and risk knowledge of the local population. The survey results then become a valuable data resource on perceptions of risk and levels of risk knowledge in the local population. The process of collecting, presenting and publicizing the results is used by local government to raise disaster awareness through the media, to increase community participation in disaster risk reduction, and to form the basis of targeted disaster risk information campaigns (ibid.).4	Page 1 Page 10 Page 20 Page 30 Page 40 Page 50 Page 60 Page 70 Page 80 Page 90 Page 100 Page 110 Page 120 Page 130 Page 131 Page 132 Page 133 Page 134 Page 135 Page 136 Page 137 Page 138 Page 139 Page 140 Page 141 ->Page 142 Page 143 Page 144 Page 145 Page 146 Page 147 Page 148 Page 149 Page 150 Page 151 Page 152 Page 153 Page 154 Page 160 Page 170 Page 180 Page 190 Page 200 Page 210 Page 220 Page 230 Page 240 Page 250 Page 260 Page 270 Page 280 Page 290 Page 300 Page 310