AUDMP News... The sixth annual Working Group Meeting (WGM) of the Asian Urban Disaster Mitigation Program (AUDMP) was held at the Ahmedabad Management Association (AMA), India from 26 to 28 March 2001. The meeting was organized jointly by the Asian Disaster Preparedness Center (ADPC), Bangkok and the Center for Environmental Planning and Technology (CEPT), Ahmedabad with support from the Office of the Foreign Disaster Assistance (OFDA) of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) who provides core funding to AUDMP. The annual WGM provides a forum for AUDMP's project partner institutions in the region to review the progress of the program, share information and experience on their achievements, particularly on the replication of best practices to other cities in the region, and make decisions regarding future directions and sustainability of the program. This year's WGM was attended by more than 50 participants representing an extensive coalition of partner organizations from local and national government agencies, NGOs, academic institutions and others, from nine countries - Bangladesh, Cambodia, China, India, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Thailand - as well as delegates from USAID. WGM Group Photo To sustain such an important forum for information exchange on urban disaster mitigation, one of the main focus of this WGM was on strategizing the institutionalization of an Asian urban disaster mitigation network. As the AUDMP moves to its seventh year in operation, the partners in the countries have gained a wealth of knowledge and experiences in implementing hazard mitigation projects, providing valuable insights, lessons learned and successful practices to new initiatives aimed at urban disaster mitigation. The meeting agreed that a network that exists beyond the life of AUDMP is crucial to continue, sustain and guide the efforts and partnerships built. The network's objectives, structure, membership, activities and sustainability were discussed. Photo of the meeting Parallel to the WGM, an exhibition displaying materials produced by the AUDMP country project partners was also set up in AMA. The display was open to the general public. The AUDMP team received many positive feedback on the exhibition and numerous requests for additional information and copies of materials on display. Photos of the Display A highlight of the meeting was a field visit to three sites: the Gujarat Earthquake - affected areas of Kutch, Surendranagar and Ahmedabad, to further comprehend the devastating effects of the Gujarat Earthquake and the post-disaster activities undertaken by government and non-government organizations. Unique to other WGMs, this meeting was held in Ahmedabad, Gujarat exactly two months after the devastating Gujarat earthquake on 26 January. This represented a significant and timely opportunity for international participants to learn and share their expertise, insights and rich experiences gained from the implementation of urban disaster mitigation projects in targeted countries with government and non-government organizations in Gujarat.