European research network maps Sendai Framework

Source(s): United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction - Regional Office for Europe & Central Asia
Programmes like the Roadmap for Europe 2030 are crucial for a continent that faces repeated hazards such as flooding (Photo: UNDP)
Programmes like the Roadmap for Europe 2030 are crucial for a continent that faces repeated hazards such as flooding (Photo: UNDP)

GENEVA, 22 May 2015 - A disaster resilience education and research Roadmap for Europe 2030 has been launched in response to the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction, which was adopted by the international community in March.

The roadmap considers the challenges and opportunities that must be addressed by higher education in Europe if it is to effectively support implementation of the Sendai Framework. Approved by governments from around the globe at the UN World Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction, the framework will guide global efforts through to 2030.

ANDROID, or the Academic Network for Disaster Resilience to Optimise Educational Development, is behind the initiative with funding support from the EU Lifelong Learning Programme.

“In the context of supporting implementation of the Sendai Framework ANDROID’s main focus is closing the policy-science gap with research that can be put into action,” said Professor Richard Haigh of the Global Disaster Resilience Centre at the University of Huddersfield, in the United Kingdom.

“We believe that the absence of such research is a barrier to avoiding the creation of new and reducing the stock of existing risk,“ added Professor Haigh, who is the leader of ANDROID.

In addition to linking research, education and action, ANDROID aims to promote an all-hazard, problem-focused approach in its research, via a concerted effort to engage with the public to ensure problems from disaster zones are addressed with solutions calibrated to the local context.

ANDROID advocates the use of global and regional networks and collaboration with UNISDR’s Scientific and Technical Advisory Group.

It also calls for greater focus on sharing and disseminating scientific information. A key element of that is the development of methods and tools for aggregating knowledge, with the aim being to facilitate access to science, technology and innovation outputs that help inform policy-making and practice.

Roadmap for Europe 2030 recognizes the challenge posed by a lack of young professionals with the right skills and knowledge to support the building of resilience in different fields, and promotes the development of flexible and customizable education programmes to meet this need.

The ANDROID consortium of applied, human, social and natural scientists, supported by international organizations and a stakeholder board, worked together to map the field in disaster resilience education, pool their results and findings, develop interdisciplinary explanations, develop capacity, move forward innovative education agendas, discuss methods, and inform policy development.

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