National Symposium for Disaster Risk Reduction

From the 8th-13th October, members of K4R and several other NGOs, County governments across Kenya and academic institutions participated in the National Symposium for Disaster Risk Reduction in preparation to celebrate International Day for Disaster Risk Reduction on the 13th of October. The symposium hosted several rich discussions on disasters and how they are linked to vulnerability, gender mainstreaming coherence, disaster risk management, early warning systems and faith actors in DRR among other issues.

During the symposium participants were privileged to visit the Kisumu Shipyard to understand the process of shipbuilding and disaster management initiatives employed and finally visit the recently commissioned MV Uhuru II. The excursion also extended to the Kisumu Fire Station where participants saw the measures the County put in place to respond to disasters.

K4R members participated in 4 out of 9 panel discussions on the following topics:

  1. Advancing Gender-Responsive Approaches in Disaster Risk Management
  2. Empowering Youth for Disaster Resilience
  3. Advancing People-Centered Early Warning Systems for Inclusive Preparedness
  4. The Role of Faith Actors in DRR and Resilience-Building

K4R is keen on extending the conversations around disaster risk reduction with a special interest in harnessing indigenous knowledge to build resilient communities.

Pictures courtesy of UNDRR