Study Course on Disaster Management and Social Relief for Chinese Civil Affairs Officials of Shaanxi Province and the Ministry of Civil Affairs (17 - 20 December 2001)

On 17 December 2001, the fourth special course on Disaster Management for Chinese Civil Officials in year 2001 was opened. Nineteen officials from Shaanxi Province and two officials from the Ministry of Civil Affairs China attended the course which lasted four days up to 20 December 2001.

In the Opening Ceremony, Dr. Suvit Yodmani, Executive Director of ADPC, first welcomed the officials. Mr. Huang Yongan, Minister - Counselor of the Embassy of China to Thailand inaugurated the course. He also encouraged the officials to participate actively and try their best to gain from the course. Mr. Wang Zhikun, Director of Department of Disaster and Social Relief, as well as the head of the delegation, also made remarks on behalf of all the officials.

Based on the feedback from the previous courses, improvement was made in the curriculum to better meet the learning needs. Basic knowledge on disaster management such as the disaster management cycle, risk assessment, preparation and mitigation of disasters was given in sound presentation. As drought has been the most serious disaster in Shaanxi Province, a session on drought management was conducted. A session on "Minimum Standards in Emergency Response" was also systematically organized and delivered. Furthermore, an interactive lecture on Social Relief in Thailand was made by senior expert, Mrs. Poonsuk Cotigavanit, Deputy Director of Department of Public Welfare, Ministry of Labour and Social Welfare. She introduced the concepts and principles of social relief and how they are being implemented in this country. A field trip to the Center for Care of Senior Citizens in Bangkok was arranged as part of the exposition on Social Relief. This was the first time such trip was undertaken.

The course was successfully conducted although some unexpected logistics inconvenience occurred. In the closing ceremony Mr. Wang Zhikun extended his sincere thanks on behalf of all the delegates for ADPC's great efforts in guaranteeing the success of the course in spite of logistics difficulties. Dr. Suvit also thanked the delegates for their understanding and active participation. Both sides expressed agreement to continue the cooperation.

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