2006

2005

2004
 September 2004
 August 2004
 July 2004
 June 2004
 April-May 2004
 March 2004
 February 2004
 January 2004
2003
 
 
July 2004
BREAKING NEWS: Launch of "Living with Risk: A global review of disaster reduction initiatives
UN/ISDR will be launching its 2004 version of “Living with Risk: A global review of disaster reduction initiatives” on 14 July in New York. Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs Jan Egeland will present this new publication as a side event of the UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC).
For information on how to purchase the publication, please email unpubli@unog.ch
To view on-line extracts of the publication, please refer to
http://www.unisdr.org/eng/about_isdr/bd-lwr-2004-eng.htm
 
ON THE ROAD TO KOBE, HYOGO
World Conference on Disaster Reduction (WCDR), Kobe, Hyogo, Japan, 18-22 January 2005
 

WCDR on-line dialogue: Setting a new international agenda towards building disaster resilient communities
To date over 600 participants have registered and are participating in the on-line conference on priority areas for future action to implement disaster risk reduction for 2005-2015, in preparation for the WCDR. Topics 1 and 2 have attracted a variety of constructive comments and generated valuable discussion from participants, with Topic 3 (looking at voluntary partnerships, operational criteria and modalities and WSSD links) commencing on 5 July. The dialogue continues until 15 July.
Further information on the on-line conference is available at http://www.unisdr.org/WCDR-dialogue/
To register, please refer to http://www.unisdr.org/WCDR-dialogue/registration.htm


WCDR second announcement now available
The WCDR secretariat is pleased to announce that the second announcement for the WCDR is now available on-line. Contents include information on how to participate and register for the WCDR in addition to information on applying to organize events.
To download the second announcement, please refer to
http://www.unisdr.org/eng/wcdr/basic-inf/WCDR%20second%20announcement-eng.pdf


National inputs for the WCDR - reminder
National reporting and inputs is an essential component in the lead up to and for the elaboration of outcomes of the WCDR. The WCDR secretariat is still receiving UN Member States' reports, and strongly encourages those that have not already to submit their inputs as soon as possible. To date around 50 reports have been received.
For further information and the outline for national inputs, please refer to http://www.unisdr.org/eng/wcdr/national-inputs/wcdr-national-imputs.htm


Community legacy in disaster management proceedings now available
The Proceeding of the International Symposium on Community Legacy in Disaster Management , held in Kobe Japan, 7 February 2004 are now available. This event was organised by the Disaster Management Planning Hyogo Office of the United Nations Center for Regional Development (UNCRD) in collaboration with the ISDR Secretariat. The proceedings provide guidance on the notion of community potential in coping with disasters from a number of perspectives.
Further information on the meeting is available from the Disaster Management Planning Hyogo Office of the UN Center for Regional Development's (UNCRD) website http://www.hyogo.uncrd.or.jp/publication/documents/symposium2004/proceedings.pdf


Corrigendum: African consultation highlights regional strategy for disaster reduction
The June issue of ISDR Highlights neglected to acknowledge the generous financial assistance and invaluable support provided by the UN Development Programme for the African contribution to the WCDR preparatory process. We sincerely apologise for this oversight.
For any enquiries relating to the Conference, please contact the WCDR Special Unit on isdr-wcdr@un.org
 
 

" Let's learn to prevent disasters!" educational kit
In 2005 UN/ISDR is promoting the adaptation and translation of the educational kit "Let's learn to prevent disasters!" produced in conjunction with UNICEF, which includes the highly successful game "Riskland". The goal is to translate and produce the educational kit/Riskland in as many languages and versions as possible as part of this year's World Disaster Reduction Campaign, which in 2005 focuses on the theme of "learning". To date the kit has been translated in 7 languages, with 15 other languages currently in preparation.

Information on the educational kit/Riskland is available at http://www.eird.org/ing/ninos/kideduc/kiting.htm
To receive an example of the kit (in English) and CD ROM of the artwork and text for use in adaptation and translation, please contact rencoret@un.org

2004 UN Sasakawa Award for Disaster Reduction
Nominations are still being accepted for the 2004 UN Sasakawa Award for Disaster Reduction until 18 August. Join us in rewarding individuals and institutions from around the world who contributed, through innovative practices and outstanding initiatives, to reducing the risk and vulnerabilities of communities to natural hazards!
To download the nomination form (available in English/French/Russian/Spanish), please refer to http://www.unisdr.org
For further information on the UN Sasakawa Award for Disaster Reduction, please refer to http://www.unisdr.org/eng/sasakawa/sk-about-eng.htm

SIDS meeting postponed week before WCDR
The UN General Assembly decided to postpone until 10-14 January 2005 the International Meeting on Small Island Developing States (Barbados+10) previously scheduled to be held from 30 August to 3 September in Mauritius, due to unusually heavy rains during the first months of this year that hindered the construction of the conference centre. Closely linked to the WCDR, the event provides an opportunity for small island nations to present their case to the international community, to seek partnerships and innovative ways to reduce their risk to natural hazards.
Further information on SIDS and the meeting is available at http://www.un.org/smallislands2005/ or http://www.sidsnet.org/


Keeping up-to-date with disaster reduction news
A range of international e-newsletters are available that relate to the subject of disaster reduction and sustainable development. Here are just a handful that could be of interest:

Numerous regional and specialist e-newsletters are also available from organizations working in disaster reduction, many of which can be accessed via their websites. For a listing of these organizations, please refer to the "Links" menu on the ISDR website http://www.unisdr.org
 

ISDR Highlights is a monthly email update on current news in disaster reduction published by the Inter-Agency Secretariat of the International Strategy for Disaster Reduction (UN/ISDR).
Please direct all enquiries (including subscription requests) to: isdr@un.org
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