Children leading change, promoting local resilience to disasters

Many organisations around the world, and especially the most disaster prone populations, realise that governments are not taking disaster risk reduction seriously enough.  As climate change raises the threat of more frequent and intense disasters it is even more urgent that risk reduction is prioritised.

REUTERS/RAFIQUR RAHMAN, courtesy of www.alertnet.org

Alongside UNICEF, Save the Children and World Vision, Plan organised a child-focused event at the 2009 Global Platform on Disaster Reduction, which ran from Monday 15th to Friday 19th June. The Global Platform takes place every 2 years and is designed to assess progress on commitments governments made under the Hyogo Framework for Action in order to reduce disaster risk.

The event focused on bringing a specifically child-centred lens to the conference debates, emphasising that children and young people have much to offer in improving local resilience to disasters.

Informed children are often in a better position than their parents to both address climate adaptation/ disaster risk reduction locally, as well as understand global issues. Research shows that young people have a clearer understanding about long-term risks, compared to their elders who often focus on short and medium term risks.

In terms of knowledge and experience sharing, children are generally better than adults at communicating risk information amongst their peers, neighbours and their community.

Children are disproportionately affected by disasters, but they can also bring a fresh perspective and adaptability. They have a right to make a contribution. Success in this area in the future depends on the engagement of today's children.

Children in Disaster Risk Reduction in Action

Rhee, 16, from the Philippines attended the event with Plan. He and his sister Honey were instrumental in a project with Plan at their school, which resulted in it being moved from the path or a potential landslide. Seventeen-year-old Honey, explains how the risk map galvanised her and her brother into action "We were warned that if ever it rained for several days, the mountain may collapse on ourschool. We decided we had to relocate it; if we had stayed where we were, none of us would have been able to concentrate on our studies."

Rhee is an active member of a group "Make a link, Be the Change'' which joins groups of children from 12 countries who share ideas strategies and lessons about preventing the worst effects of climate change.

"It is our right to be safe." Rhee said when interviewed after the opening of their classes having their school in 2008.  "It was a painful process but we have to do it!"

From the UNISDR conference:

Rhee's presence at United Nations International Strategy for Disaster Reduction event appears in photos on the UN's IISD website, featuring highlights of this year's Global Platform.

See video of Rhee's speech at the closing session of the UNISDR event

After participating in the Global Platform on Disaster Risk Reduction, Rhee joined UNICEF Disaster Risk Reduction Specialist Antony Spalton in an interview with UNICEF Radio's Amy Costello about the role of children in protecting their communities from natural disasters.

Plan International's Statement during UNISDR 2009 Global Platform's closing plenary:

The HFA calls for development of specific mechanisms to engage the active participation of relevant stakeholders at all levels.
There is no specific mechanism within the ISDR system and members to routinely facilitate dialogue with children, and for children's voices to be heard at international levels.
At national levels, there are national platforms, which should involve children's participation.
We call upon members of the ISDR system to actively facilitate dialogue with children. We commit to follow-up the work done with the "Children on the Frontline" survey by facilitating a dialogue between children and the ISDR system leadership. We ask in return a commitment from ISDR secretariat to take part in this process.
We would like the next Global Platform to report progress in the participation of children at all levels. We need to ensure that the Mid-Term review includes a mechanism for children's voices to be heard.

View the Global Platform 2009 Outcomes: Chair's Summary and Recommendations.