Community-based disaster risk management online course (in Turkish)

The consequences of natural disasters for economic activity, property, human welfare and natural resources can be devastating. These events greatly affect the productive sectors of the economy, not to mention the impacts on communities, in particular the poor.

With increasing frequency, countries face situations in which scarce resources that were earmarked for development projects have to be diverted to relief and reconstruction. A recent World Bank Study on Jamaica, Dominican Republic and OECS countries confirms that long-term economic growth recovers slowly after major natural disasters. If sustainable development is to be achieved, countries will have to take effective measures to manage natural hazard risks.

Effective disaster risk management requires close coordination of all activities and the participation of all sectors in the economy: national disaster agencies, sector ministries, business and private sector organizations, as well as community level organizations. Since low-income households and communities are often more vulnerable to natural hazards than the population at large, their active involvement in risk reduction, based on local knowledge and measures tailored to local conditions, offers to complement national disaster management initiatives. The role of local actors – municipal governments and communities – is being increasingly recognized. Decentralization of disaster risk management implies delegation of competencies and resources to the local level keeping in mind the subsidiary principle.

Objective

The objective of Community Based Disaster Risk Management course is to introduce the basic concepts, tools, and mechanisms that help the design and implementation of community-based disaster risk management programs. The course highlights the flexibility and inventive character of community-based initiatives. Further, it underscores the need for greater engagement with people and a better understanding of their risks and resources.

Course Format

The course consists of self-paced modules, discussion forums, exercises, readings, case studies, tests and learning via interaction with program faculty and peers. The course includes 6 audio sessions of expert lectures for 30–35 minutes each.

Course Expectations

Participants are expected to commit 8–10 hours per week in order to gain the most out of this course in addition to:
• Complete the required reading assignments
• Participate in all online activities. Participation involves posting a minimum of two messages per week that are substantive in nature. The message can be either a new topic or a reply to someone else's message.
• Participants are encouraged to post more often than twice a week in order to be involved more deeply into topics.
• Participate in videoconferencing and asynchronous chat sessions (if applicable)
• Complete assignments and end of course project

Complete course evaluation at the end of the course.