The society revealed a set of scientific and practical recommendations on the role of youth and their empowerment within the framework of the International Day for Disaster Risk Reduction, presented by the heads and experts of 24 Arab civil society organizations who participated in its celebration this year. The recommendations included proposals and practical mechanisms through which young people can smoothly engage in community executive roles in this regard. In a press release, the society confirmed that the experts presented 8 main recommendations under which fall 18 practical axes that empower young people in the field of disaster risk reduction in line with the slogan of the global celebrations for this year.
The society stated that the recommendation concerning the field of “education and awareness” saw through it the importance of “launching awareness campaigns, organized by young people in schools and universities to increase community awareness of the risks of disasters and how to prepare for them. Training workshops can also be organized on first response skills, such as first aid, and safe evacuation procedures in emergencies, as well as taking advantage of social media, in which young people are creative, and using digital platforms for the same purposes.”.
Regarding participation in community activities, participants highlighted “volunteering in relief campaigns,” where young people are encouraged to engage in relief and assistance activities during and after disasters, such as distributing food or helping those affected. They also mentioned “training local youth teams” to be prepared to intervene in emergencies within their communities, such as rapid response teams for natural disasters. In the area of “launching community projects,” young people are encouraged to initiate projects aimed at improving their communities’ infrastructure through sustainability and disaster resilience technologies.
The Environment Society emphasized that the “Technological Innovation” recommendation includes developing applications and technology projects to support young people in developing solutions such as apps to warn the community of risks or platforms to coordinate relief efforts. It also encourages young people to use open data and digital maps to monitor, analyze, and predict risks and disasters in their areas. Regarding “Partnerships with Organizations,” this encompasses collaboration with governmental and non-governmental organizations. Young people can collaborate with official bodies and non-profit organizations to enhance disaster awareness programs and develop proactive policies to protect communities. Furthermore, it supports youth participation in international conferences and global events, such as conferences or workshops organized by the United Nations or environmental organizations on disaster risk reduction.
In its statement, the organization noted that the recommendation to “raise awareness of the impact of climate change” is implemented through environmental projects and the organization of community activities for youth focused on enhancing climate resilience, such as tree planting or habitat clean-up campaigns to protect areas most vulnerable to disasters. It also highlighted the importance of “educating the community about climate change,” where young people can lead awareness events to inform communities about the impact of climate change on natural disasters and how to adapt to these changes. The statement further explained that the “leadership skills development” mechanism is implemented through programs that empower young people as local leaders, by organizing training programs aimed at developing their leadership skills and enabling them to take responsibility for disaster management planning in their communities.
She explained that “enhancing political participation” is achieved by involving young people in decision-making and setting local and national policies related to disaster risk reduction, whether through public consultations or youth councils, which are responsible for discussing and developing local disaster risk reduction strategies in cooperation with local authorities, in addition to young people’s participation in preparing and developing national strategies to reduce disaster risks, which allows them to play an active role in the future of their communities.
Regarding sources of self-learning in the field of disaster risk reduction, the Kuwait Environment Protection Society said that “experts reviewed some of the global electronic platforms, organizations and relevant bodies in this regard, which offer free and paid courses from universities and global institutions on multiple topics such as climate change risk management and disaster preparedness, in addition to the websites of competent bodies in this field such as the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR).”.
