Disaster Risk Reduction Field Sessions

The regional perspective

The IFRC is taking a new approach to building strong and resilient communities. Its comprehensive Disaster Risk Reduction Field Sessions are helping to build communities that can prepare for, adapt to, withstand and recover from external and internal shocks. Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) Field Sessions combine practical activities with theory to help communities identify and tackle critical vulnerabilities as they draw from years of collective experience. The sessions were developed through “action learning” and “action research” with communities.

DRR Field Sessions provide a foundation for understanding risks and their underlying causes, guiding participants towards appropriate risk reduction measures.

The main objective of a DRR Field Session is to create an integrated multi-sectoral development plan for building safer and resilient communities using a Vulnerability and Capacity Assessment (VCA) tool. It aims to exploit collective community strengths and the synergies found in the integrated programmatic approach.

In 2010, the IFRC initiated the Disaster Risk Reduction Field Sessions in Laos. Since then, further sessions have been held in Timor Leste, Sri Lanka, Thailand and China. So far more than 100 practitioners from 22 national Societies across Asia and the Pacific have attended the Disaster Risk Reduction Field Sessions.

Contact

e-mail: Disaster Risk Management Delegate, Hung Ha Nguyen, at hungha.nguyen@ifrc.org

Case studies

Case study: DRR Field Session: A tool for community safety and resilience in the Asia Pacific region

Purpose: To give an overview of DRR Field Session implementation in Asia Pacific. Overview: A DRR Field Session takes place over 10 days. Participants spend 3 days in the field and 7 days in the classroom. The entire process promotes peer…