Experts from 18 National Scout Organizations participate in Disaster Mitigation, Preparedness and Response Workshop
Experts from 18 National Scout Organizations (NSOs) recently participated in a workshop on disaster mitigation, preparedness and response in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Held from 9 to 11 October 2016, the workshop was organised by the World Organization of the Scout Movement (WOSM), with the generous support of Alwaleed Philanthropies.
Participants shared their NSOs’ experiences on disaster mitigation, preparedness and response and established a set of ideas that will shape WOSM’s guidelines on the topic. These guidelines are meant to give NSOs interested in this area of work an overall framework, which is open for adaptation and full of best practices that can be replicated in different NSOs.
They looked beyond the Scouting environment for inspiration as well – with guests from the International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, Save the Children, King Salman’s Aid and Relief Centre and Alwaleed Philanthropies. Many areas for potential collaboration were raised during the workshop.
WOSM’s efforts in equipping NSOs across the region with the knowledge and skills to respond to emergency situations have enabled them to provide humanitarian assistance in times of disaster. When Hurricane Matthew struck Haiti last week, Scouting was among the first few organisations to provide emergency relief to the local communities. For the latest updates on the relief efforts of Scouts d’Haiti, go to https://www.scout.org/scoutaidhaiti.
Members of @worldscouting having a look at #KSRelief humanitarian work during their visit today pic.twitter.com/tnAipRE1d0
— مركز الملك سلمان (@ksrelief) October 10, 2016