Hungary National Platform

History

The Hungarian national platform for DRR within the ISDR system was established in 2001. Since then, it has been working within the unified national disaster management, which had been created as a consequence of a reorganization of the Hungarian disaster management system in 1999. The Hungarian platform is now working under the National Directorate General for Disaster Management (NDGDM).

Structure

As aforementioned, the Hungarian national platform for DRR is an initiative of the NDGDM. It is not an individual body, so it does not have its own budget. Thus, the position of the President of the platform is taken by the Director General of the NDGDM. Furthermore, the Secretary of the platform as well as other positions are filled by heads of the NDGDM. The members of the platform are drawn from different parts of society:

• Ministry of Interior
• Ministry of National Development; Ministry of National Resources; Ministry for National Economy; Ministry of Rural Development; Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade; and Ministry of Public Administration and Justice
• Hungarian National Association of Local Authorities
• Budapest University of Technology and Economics and Eötvös Lóránd University
• Hungarian Red Cross and Hungarian Baptist Aid » Hungarian news agency (Magyar Távirati Iroda)
• Budapest Chemical Works Co. Ltd.; Association of Hungarian Insurance Companies; and MOL Group

Mandate

Currently, almost 30 members participate in the general platform, which takes place yearly. The aim of the platform is to convene a joint meeting once a year where the competent persons from the government, nongovernment, science and private sphere can discuss their contributions and efforts in the field of DRR, to discuss the progress taken in the Hyogo Framework and to come up with new ideas to reduce disaster risks. The NDGDM updates the platform members about the actual international DRR themes and upcoming ISDR events. On the other hand, the NDGDM circulates information about the international DRR trends and news electronically to the platform members. 

Additionally, certain members of the platform regularly meet on other occasions. For example, the Governmental Coordination Committee of the Ministry of Interior is responsible for the preparation of decisions related to disaster management issues of the Government. Hungarian ministries are members of the Governmental Coordination Committee as well as of the national platform, as listed above. Another example is provided by the Humanitarian Assistance Coordination working group of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, in which the same competent ministries as well as civil and charitable organizations take part to coordinate humanitarian relief and assistance activities.