Asian Disaster Preparedness Center has launched its new iPrepare campaign to increase public awareness of disaster preparedness. Over three hundred students attended the campaign launch at Hanoi School of Public Health and Vietnam National University in Vietnam – the pilot country of the campaign.
iPrepare is designed to build students’ capacity to understand disaster resiliency and how they can contribute to better prepare their communities to natural hazards. With support from the Royal Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the campaign aims to increase students’ understanding of the cross-cutting nature of disaster preparedness in their prospective career fields.
The students are invited to participate in the campaign by exploring disaster preparedness measures in their own community and creating a brief news story including the culmination of their results. The news report with the most innovative approach to disaster preparedness will be rewarded.
“With proper risk communication, we can reduce illness and deaths caused by natural hazards. Risk communication provides meaningful and timely information on how to prepare for, protect against, respond to and recover from disasters,” said Dr. Pir Mohammad Paya, Senior Technical Specialist at ADPC facilitating the launch lectures.
Vietnam is one of the most vulnerable countries in the world with regard to natural hazards caused by the changing climate. The most prevalent disasters include storms, floods and droughts.
“This campaign contributes to increasing awareness of disasters in communities as well as motivates the students to increase their own knowledge about disaster preparedness. This is a good example of learning by doing,” said Dr. Ha Van Nhu, Head of Department of Disaster Management at Hanoi School of Public Health.
The students were excited to learn how disaster preparedness affects them.
“I will submit a news story and – more than the prize – I can learn how my community prepares for natural hazards,” said Ms. Nguyen Ngoc Ly, a student at College of Education at Vietnam National University.
The news reports submitted by students will be published at adpc.net/iprepare