• On 27 November 2024, UNITAR concluded the online phase of the “Women’s Leadership in Tsunami-based Disaster Risk Reduction” training programme, engaging over 130 participants from Asia and the Pacific Island region, in a series of “virtual classroom” webinars and online discussion forums.
• In Phase 1, participants learned about gender equality in disaster risk reduction, community-based disaster risk reduction, disability inclusion, and the empowerment of vulnerable groups within disaster risk reduction initiatives.
• The top performers will be invited to Phase 2, an in-person workshop in Fiji in March 2025.

Phase 1 of the training featured asynchronous online learning platforms and “virtual classrooms” webinars. The webinars covered coastal risk management issues in the Pacific region, the designing of community spaces for tsunami disaster risk reduction, and women’s leadership in disaster risk reduction.

Virtual classroom webinar on 4 September

• Women’s leadership in disaster risk management (Ms. Dixi Mengote-Quah, Disaster Risk Management Specialist, World Bank Tokyo Disaster Risk Management Hub) 

Virtual classroom webinar on 18 September

• Disaster risk reduction and disaster waste management activities (Mr. Satoru Mimura, Advisor from the Global Environment Department, Japan International Cooperation Agency)
• Responsive disaster risk reduction through the lens of gender perspective (Ms. Branwen Millar, Gender Advisor, United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction)

Virtual classroom webinar on 16 October

• Community space design for tsunami disaster risk reduction (Mr. Nobuhito Ohtsu, Senior Researcher from the National Research Institute of Fire and Disaster, Fire and Disaster Management Agency, and Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications, Government of Japan)
• Coastal risk management tools available in the Pacific region (Ms. Judith Giblin, the Ocean & Coastal Risk Data Analyst in the Geoscience, Energy and Maritime Division at the Pacific Community)

Virtual classroom webinar on 6 November

• Women’s leadership in disaster risk reduction (Ms. Flora Vano, Country Programme Manager of Action Aid Vanuatu)
• Representation and roles of people with disabilities during crises (Mr. Jay Nasilasila, Programme Coordinator, Climate Change and Disaster Risk Reduction Unit, Fiji Disabled Peoples Federation)

Closing webinar on 27 November

In the final webinar of the online phase, Ms. Vasiti Soko, former director of the Fiji National Disaster Management Office, underscored the importance of inclusive national policies, the need for building partnerships, and the interplay of disaster risk reduction approaches and women’s empowerment.

We need to make sure that the policies were inclusive of women, and that there was a gender lens into our standard operating procedure. On behalf of the women, I’d like to see men champions in the Pacific who will also speak for women leaders when women are not present in the meeting.”

The webinars were followed by lively group discussions and critical thinking exercises, time allowing. Through these exchanges of ideas, participants got to know each other, building their regional networks for disaster risk reduction.