UNISDR seeks nominations for 2013 UN Sasakawa Award for Disaster Risk Reduction
GENEVA, 12 December 2012 - The UN Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNISDR) today announced that it is accepting nominations for the 2013 UN Sasakawa Award for Disaster Risk Reduction, a prestigious award made possible by an endowment from the Nippon Foundation of Japan.
The 2013 Award will be given to the candidate with the most innovative project under the theme “Acting As One” which reflects one of the most important tenets of disaster risk reduction: that building the resilience of nations and communities to disasters is everybody’s business and needs everyone’s participation and commitment to succeed, including civil society, private individuals, professional networks and government at all levels.
“The main obstacle to disaster preparedness is to recognize that disasters are not events that just happen rather they are predictable scenarios which you have to plan for. The key issue is how societies organize to mitigate the impacts. So far this century over a million people have died as a result of disasters and we have suffered over $1.3 trillion in economic losses. There is a lot at stake in terms of lives, jobs and property,” said Margareta Wahlström, the UN Special Representative for Disaster Risk Reduction and head of UNISDR.
“Central government must take the lead on reducing exposure to risk and act in collaboration with a wide range of stakeholders including local government, civil society organizations, the private sector, the media, and the scientific and academic communities. Disaster risk reduction is truly every body’s business and we look forward to finding some great examples of that among the nominations for this award,” she said.
The deadline for submissions is 28 February 2013. The winner will be announced on 22 May 2013 during the Fourth Global Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction – the biennial global gathering of disaster risk reduction practitioners in Geneva, Switzerland. The awardee also receives a prize of US$50,000.
How to nominate a candidate:
To nominate a candidate, please fill the “Questionnaire for those submitting nominations” contained in the Application packet available on the 2013 UN Sasakawa Award website: http://www.unisdr.org/sasakawa. Those nominating a candidate are invited to describe how, in the past two years, the nominee has encouraged successful collaboration among actors of different professional and/or social spheres to reduce disaster risk in innovative ways, whether at the national level or the local and community level. For examples of how the theme might be embodied in real life projects, our website carries a document on Guidelines and rules for submitting entries.
Completed questionnaires should be emailed to isdr-sasakawa@un.org, attn: Ms. Dizery Salim, but they can also be faxed or sent by post. To learn more about nominating a candidate, please consult our Guidelines and rules for submitting entries on the award website http://www.unisdr.org/sasakawa.
Deadline for submission of supporting documents: 28 February 2013
Once nominated, nominees must submit – by 28 February 2013 – an additional questionnaire about how their initiative responds to the theme "Acting As One," together with documents to support their nomination. The section on "Guidelines for Supporting Documentation" in the Application packet, available on http://www.unisdr.org/sasakawa, includes instructions on how nominees can submit supporting documents.
Announcement of winner: 22 May 2013
Jury members representing four of the world’s regions (Africa, the Americas, Asia and Europe) will apply criteria derived from the Hyogo Framework to determine a winner, to be chosen shortly before the Fourth Global Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction. The winner will be announced during the Fourth Global Platform on the evening of 22 May 2013, where the winning candidate will receive a US$50,000 prize.
For more information about the 2013 Sasakawa Award contact: Ms. Dizery Salim via: isdr-sasakawa@un.org
About UNISDR: UNISDR is the UN office dedicated to disaster risk reduction. It is led by the Special Representative of the Secretary General for Disaster Risk Reduction and supports implementation of the Hyogo Framework for Action 2005-2015: Building the Resilience of Nations and Communities to Disasters which seeks “the substantial reduction of disaster losses, in lives and in the social, economic and environmental assets of communities and countries.”
For more information about UNISDR visit: www.unisdr.org