Given the outcomes of the 6th Asian Ministerial Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction (AMCDRR) in June 2014, and moving forward to the 32nd International Conference of the Red Cross Red Crescent in 2015, National Societies have an important role in bringing the concerns of communities to the attention decision makers and opinion leaders.As such, advocating for the needs of vulnerable communities is one of IFRC’s priorities.

In Southeast Asia, the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies’ (IFRC) Regional Resilience Initiative seeks to reduce the impact of natural disasters on vulnerable communities by engaging in stronger advocacy and diplomacy at both a national and regional level.

Regional Resilience Workshop, Bangkok, 3-5 February 2015The IFRC South-East Asia regional delegation hosted a regional workshop focused on building skills in conducting advocacy and humanitarian diplomacy for disaster risk reduction from 3-5 February 2015.While diplomacy is often conducted by the leadership of National Societies, senior technical staff – across the various areas of a National Society, including disaster management, disaster law, disaster risk reduction, health and communications – have a critical role that supports this goal. Therefore staff from across these areas were the primary target group for the workshop.

Specific objectives of the Workshop were to:

• Increase understanding and capacity to conduct humanitarian diplomacy for disaster risk reduction and disaster law, while building regional cooperation and understanding of engagement on advocacy partners such as ASEAN and ADPC, as well as other partners working on disaster risk reduction.
• Strengthen cooperation and coordinated advocacy between National Societies and their respective National Disaster Management Authority counterparts.
• Identify common advocacy messaging based on community concerns (VCA analysis results) and identify messaging for national and regional level advocacy in disaster risk reduction and disaster law (legislative advocacy). Further to this, address how to integrate beneficiary communication into disaster management programming with a specific emphasis on using the voice and needs of beneficiaries for advocacy with examples from National Societies in the region.
• Establish regional advocacy and humanitarian diplomacy objectives for 2015-2016 including a review on methods to increase engagement at the regional level with ASEAN and the national level with National Disaster Management Authority counterparts. This also includes identifying needs and an implementation strategy to conduct additional trainings on humanitarian diplomacy, communication, beneficiary communication or disaster law at the national level in 2015-2016, as well as the 2015 International Conference, Sendai, etc.

The workshop was attended by representatives from Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Myanmar, Philippines, Thailand, Timor-Leste and Viet Nam Red Cross societies. A number of countries were also accompanied by a member of their government’s national disaster management office.

The whole process of the workshop has also been captured in Storify, to view, click here.

Here are some resources leading up to and from the workshop:

1. Concept Note of the Workshop

2. Agenda

3. AMCDRR- IFRC Commitments which enumerates IFRC voluntary commitments towards the AMCDRR and recommendations as described below:

National Societies of Red Cross and Red Crescent from the Asia Pacific Regions voluntarily committed in:

• Enhancing resilience at local level
• Improving Public Investments for Disaster & Climate Risk Management to Protect & Sustain Development Gains
• Private Sector Role – Public & Private Partnership for Disaster Risk Reduction

The RCRC call upon the government, public and private sectors and other participants to:

• Continue active engagement with ‘at-risk’ communities, local leaders and civil society to achieve lasting impacts in reducing risks and strengthening resilience.
• Review and strengthen the implementation of legal frameworks to create an enabling environment for building community resilience.
• Strengthen support to and investment in Red Cross Red Crescent National Societies as unique partners in building community safety and resilience.
• Allocate more resources to and advocate for greater recognition of ‘silent disasters’ which have the most significant impacts on vulnerable communities.
• Support and strengthen relevant and reliable systems that allow access to and the distribution of risk information and warnings to affected populations and communities.

4. Disaster Risk Reduction: A Global Advocacy Guide, IFRC, Geneva, 2012 which encompasses:

• What is disaster risk reduction
• What is advocacy
• Advocacy in community
• Advocacy roles of the DRR practitioner
• How to deliver effective advocacy
• Advocacy and legal preparedness
• Advocacy and cross-cutting issues (gender, livelihood and food security and urbanization)
• Advocacy and climate change

5. Bangkok Declaration on Disaster Risk Reduction in Asia and the Pacific 2014 made in the 6th Asian Ministerial Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction, Bangkok, 22-26 June 2014

6. South-East Asia National Societies Disaster Laws Pledge for 2012-2015 in:

• Legal preparedness for international disaster response
• Enhancing disaster risk reduction through legislation

7. Beneficiary communications and putting communities at the centre of advocacy: What do communities want and how can we listen? Presentation from IFRC Myanmar.

Main points include:

• What is beneficiary communication and its purpose
• Links between BC and advocacy, and the role of RC to support this
• Skills for community advocacy

8. Commitments and Way Forward – presentation by IFRC AP Zone and Disaster Law Commitments by IFRC SEARD on global initiatives including Asian Ministerial Conference, 32 International Conference of Red Cross and Red Crescent, post-2015 Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction and ways that the Red Cross Red Crescent can take action and what it means for National Societies at the country level.

9. Enhancing regional and national partnerships: working with national disaster management authorities and ASEAN. DPPM will share their experience how RCRC can improve engagement with their respective institutions, ways to improve collaboration and future opportunities, in a picture presentation.

10. Country plans of action which cover objectives, targeted audience, evidence, opportunities, needs and challenges in conducting humanitarian diplomacy:

• PMI (Advocacy Planning- Indonesian Red Cross)
• Myanmar RC (Country Advocacy and Humanitarian Diplomacy Planning)

11. A brief introduction to humanitarian diplomacy in action, including National Society examples of disaster law and advocacy: International Disaster Response Law in the Philippines 2015, a presentation by Philippine Red Cross.

Main points include:

• The Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Act of 2010
• IDRL (International Disaster Response Law) Workshops in the Philippines
• Act facilitating and regulating international disaster relief and initial recovery assistance and for other purposes
• PRC’s engagement in the development of a bill on international assistance (based on IFRC’s Model Act).