The Disaster Resilience & Leadership (DRL) Fellowship Program is a core component of the Strengthening Leadership in Disaster Resilience Program (SLDRP), which aims to reduce disaster risk in vulnerable communities by systematically strengthening the existing capacity of disaster risk reduction (DRR) practitioners, supporting the development of future leaders, and working towards sustainability through a global network of academic, public and private stakeholders. A special course has been designed to build the capacity of Southeast Asian countries targeting their training institutes, disaster management agencies, intergovernmental organizations, private sector and civil society groups. GDRL Fellowship is dedicated to strengthening and enhancing the skills of existing DRR practitioners by providing GDRL Fellows with training and education using Disaster Resilience Training Framework, which is organized around four primary pillars of study:
(1) Disaster Operations Leadership with an emphasis on disaster risk management (DRM);
(2) Human Factor covering Psychosocial and Behavioral Leadership Sciences;
(3) Leadership Analytics; and
(4) Leadership in Changing Environment & Climate.
This specific fellowship is implemented by Asian Disaster Preparedness Center, Disaster Resilience Leadership Academy of Tulane University, USA in partnership with the ASEAN Secretariat and AHA Centre with financial support by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and Royal Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. After completion of the course, DRL Fellows will become part of the SLDRP Global Disaster Resilience Leadership Network; an expansive network of global leaders in DRM facilitated by Disaster Resilience Leadership Academy of Tulane University, USA and its regional partners, which will enable them the long-term exchange of peer-to-peer learning and best practices. By targeting existing leaders in the public, private and civil society spheres - the GDRL Fellowship Program aims to build surge capacity to address increasing disaster risk, leadership gaps and to strengthen disaster resilience in vulnerable communities.
GDRL Fellows will receive financial support to cover logistical (travel, hotel, per diem, etc.) and workshop related costs to attend two regional training workshops on “Disaster Resilient Leadership” in Bangkok, Thailand. The GDRL Fellows shall committ to attend the first workshop between 29th of September to 3rd of October 2014 and the second workshop from 1st - 5th December 2014 and contribute to the global network of disaster resilience leaders.
The GDRL Fellowship Program seeks the participation of individuals with great potential for leadership, previous demonstrable contribution to the DRM and Resilience arenas, and a vested interest in positively contributing to, and advancing the emerging field of Disaster Resilience Leadership in four continents - North America, the Caribbean, Asia and Africa - the GDRL Fellowship Program offers valuable opportunities for leadership development and professional engagement with current and future leaders in the fields of disaster risk management and resilience building.
DRL Fellows will be nominated by organizations which implement DRM programs, based on the aforementioned description. They should be at executive or managerial leadership levels representing:
(1) National, provincial and district administrative and technical service staff of Southeast Asian countries who have prior experience / engagement with disaster risk management and or disaster response
(2) Intergovernmental organizations in Southeast Asian countries
(3) Private Sector in Southeast Asian countries
(4) Non-Governmental Organizations in Southeast Asian countries
(5) Academes such as Universities and Training Institutes in Southeast Asian countries
(6) Local Government bodies in Southeast Asian countries
Each nominated candidate should submit the following to be entitled for application screening:
(1) Course Application Form (a sample application form is given below)
(2) An English language essay on his/her past involvement and future potential contribution in DRM (Maximum of 3500 characters with Times New Roman Font, single spaced)
(3) Letter of Nomination from his/her respective organization