Empowering Youth Leadership, mainstreaming innovations for Disaster Risk Reduction in Asia Pacific
The National Disaster Reduction Center of China, Ministry of Emergency Management and UNICEF China Office co-hosts a partner event during the 8th Regional Ministerial Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction
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BEIJING and Brisbane, 20 September 2022 — Young delegates from Asia and Africa and top officials from China today took on a central role to advocate for children and young people’s active role in sharing their innovative solutions to reduce disaster risks at a major regional conference in Brisbane.
Held this week, the 8th Asia-Pacific Ministerial Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction co-hosted by the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction and the Australian Government showcased and shared experiences, actions, and innovations to help build a resilient future for the region.
“When youths are given a chance, they will give more: their time, their mind, everything. That’s when innovation and creativity arise. Fly high and keep down to earth,” said Septian Firmansyah, Youth Co-Founder and Director of Sky Volunteer, Indonesia.
As the first event of its kind, the National Disaster Reduction Center of China, and the Ministry of Emergency Management partnered with UNICEF China to jointly organize an event Mainstreaming Innovation: Empowering Youth Leadership for Disaster Risk Reduction, with a South-South Cooperation perspective.
Li Shengli, Deputy Director General of the Department of International Cooperation and Rescue of the Ministry of Emergency Management, said, “We are willing to explore the progress and future of youth leadership in disaster risk reduction and call for youth empowerment in science, technology and innovation in disaster risk reduction.”
He invited interested stakeholders to support and engage in setting up and growing a newly opened Chinese Government-initiated and UNICEF-supported “Knowledge Hub”, an exchange platform for young people, government officials and others to learn from each other on the issue.
“Disasters disproportionately affect children and young people. When disaster strikes, girls and boys are among the most vulnerable to its impact. Yet, careful planning can enable us to handle risk more effectively, and move them from being affected and at risk to being prepared and resilient”, said Douglas Noble, Acting UNICEF China Representative. He also said, “Working with children and young people is also key to building resilient communities. With our support children can exercise their rights to actively participate in all matters that affect their lives, including during emergencies.”
Septian was joined by other presenters Nurfashareena Muhamad from U-INSPIRE Malaysia; Wang Wei, Director of Airborne Remote Sensing Applications Department, Tami’er, Project Officer International Cooperation Department, both from National Disaster Reduction Center of China. The four introduced how drones can be used in humanitarian assistance and disaster risk reduction. They also shared their experience on how to mobilize young people to increase community resilience. Representatives from Indonesia, Fiji, Malawi and Chinese enterprise took part in a panel discussion on empowering young people to build resilience for disasters.
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