A global review of disaster reduction initiatives - Welcome to the ...

challengesFuture challenges and prioritiesEffective public awareness to increase theunderstanding about hazards and risks, andmost importantly to motivate a collective commitmentto establish a culture of prevention,requires sustained activities in several complimentaryareas, even though the time immediatelyafter a major disaster is ideal to strengthenthese awareness activities. These include thefollowing priorities for future attention:• Official policies that promote the value ofdisaster risk reduction• Public education and professional trainingas primary tools• Developing an expanded role for themedia• Increasing the value of public events• Using multiple interests to publicise riskissuesOfficial policies that promote the value of disasterrisk reductionUnder all forms of government, officialauthorities and local leaders have a responsibilityto provide information and the means toensure public security. In this respect, there isconsiderable scope to inform and advise thepublic about natural and related hazards, andthe risks they pose. The direction, encouragementand material support to establish thevalue of disaster risk reduction is most productivewhen they originate from the leadershipwithin the community. The creation of broadand non-partisan political support is equallyimportant if sustained financial and budgetaryallocations are to be ensured for increased publicawareness leading to the creation of a cultureof prevention.While the variety of activities which motivatepublic safety are essentially educational innature, they are dependent upon the consistentuse of information across different segments ofa society. To become more effective, theyshould continue to take account of the specificneeds and localised concerns of differentgroups of people. Conscientious programs ofBuilding understanding: development of knowledge and information sharingpublic awareness need to be continuous, andpart of the public discourse into the varioussectors of Government policies. Public awarenessand understanding cannot happen bychance, nor result from exposure to a singlecampaign, although devastating catastropheshave frequently provided opportunities forlaunching public awareness campaigns.Professional training and formal education asprimary toolsAs there are few specialised courses currentlydevoted to disaster risk alone, there is a challengefor educational authorities as well as professionaltraining institutions to develop theseprograms. As has become more evident in someareas, there are already efforts being made tointroduce more risk issues into the training ofprofessionals such as engineers, meteorologists,urban planners, and many types of physical scientists.There are many additional areas ofinstruction such as environmental management,public administration, geography, and most ofthe social sciences which have not typicallyregarded risk awareness as part of the syllabus.Creating familiarity about natural hazardsneeds to start in primary and secondary school.As important institutions in most local communities,schools and educators can serve animportant role in motivating students tobecome involved in exercises, public discussions,and other activities that promote disasterreduction among family and community membersoutside the classroom. Schools canbecome the centres for development of communityknowledge and skills for disaster riskreduction (see chapter 4.2 on education).Developing an expanded role for the mediaThere is a need for more frequent and betterinformedmedia coverage about risk reductionbefore a disaster occurs. However, if the communityitself was more interested in this subject,the chances are that the media wouldreflect this interest. Risk reduction programscan all be improved by including media representativesthat are well informed about theissues, themselves.4201