Celebrating the International Day for Disaster Risk Reduction 2024 and Opening of the “Are You Ready” Art Exhibition – Manila, Philippines
Date: Monday, 14 October 2024, 15:30-16:30
Venue: Music Hall, SM Mall of Asia, Manila, Philippines
Taking place alongside the Asia-Pacific Ministerial Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction (APMCDRR), this event brings together art and dialogue. Celebrating the International Day for Disaster Risk Reduction, it encourages countries in Asia-Pacific to harness the education sector to reduce the disaster risks of children and youth. This topic will be addressed in an exciting panel discussion. Moreover, the event opens the “Are You Ready” art exhibition, which presents artworks that explore the challenges and solutions related to disaster risk reduction in Asia and the Pacific. It highlights the role of art as a powerful form of education to raise awareness and inspire action to build more resilient communities. The exhibition is organized by the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR) with the support of the Philippine Government and SM Prime, and with contributions from the UNESCO Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission and the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies.
The event is open to the public with participation from governments from the Asia-Pacific region, the United Nations, non-governmental organizations, the private sector and the media.
Background on IDDRR 2024: ‘Empowering the next generation for a resilient future”
The theme of the International Day for Disaster Risk Reduction (IDDRR) 2024 will be on the role of education in protecting and empowering youth for a disaster-free future. The theme is aligned with one of the five priorities of the Summit of the Future (“youth and future generations”), which was a high-level event in New York in September 2024 that brought world leaders together to forge a new international consensus on how to deliver a better present and safeguard the future.
IDDRR 2024 calls on countries to harness the education sector to reduce the disaster risks of school-aged children, especially by investing in:
- Protecting children and youth through safe schools and education facilities: children are entitled to be safe in their schools and this starts with ensuring schools are disaster-resilient and part of disaster early warning systems.
- Empowering children and youth through age-appropriate education to understand and act on the risks they face. This includes building their preparedness to take early action in response to early warnings. Empowered children become agents of change for more resilient communities.
- Endorsing and implementing the Comprehensive School Safety Framework 2022-2030, developed by the Global Alliance for Disaster Risk Reduction and Resilience in the Education Sector (GADRRRES), which is chaired by UNESCO and UNICEF.
Key messages on the theme are available in the IDDRR 2024 concept note: https://iddrr.undrr.org/publication/concept-note-international-day-disaster-risk-reduction-2024
Further resources can be found at: https://iddrr.undrr.org