SINGAPORE, 24 August 2023 – ASEAN is ready to accelerate disaster resilience building by strengthening cross-sectoral collaboration within the region involving ASEAN’s partners and friends. This message was emphasised throughout the ASEAN Disaster Management Week (ADMW) held under the theme Disaster Resilience in ASEAN – Now and Beyond on 21-24 August in Singapore.

 

The event was co-organised by Singapore Civil Defence Force, Viet Nam Disaster and Dyke Management Agency as Chair of the ASEAN Committee on Disaster Management (ACDM), ASEAN Secretariat, and the ASEAN Coordinating Centre for Humanitarian Assistance on disaster management (AHA Centre).

 

The ADMW comprised of One ASEAN One Response Roadshow for Singapore stakeholders, ASEAN Interregional Dialogue on Disaster Resilience, 1st ASEAN Disaster Resilience Forum (ADRF), Commemoration of the 20th Anniversary of the ACDM, and ASEAN Strategic Policy Dialogue on Disaster Management (SPDDM).

 

K. Shanmugam, Singapore’s Minister for Home Affairs and Minister for Law, delivered the opening remarks for the ADMW. Secretary-General of ASEAN Dr. Kao Kim Hourn delivered a pre-recorded message followed by Ambassador of the European Union to Singapore Iwona Piórko who delivered her message on-site.

 

The One ASEAN One Response Roadshow familiarised the representatives of relevant ministries, civil society organisations, academia, and other stakeholders in Singapore with the One ASEAN One Response vision and with ASEAN’s regional disaster mechanisms. The roadshow also created a better understanding of what every individual can  contribute towards ASEAN disaster management and of ASEAN’s joint response to disasters in and outside the region.

 

The ACDM, along with other regional organisations participating at  the ASEAN Interregional Dialogue on Disaster Resilience exchanged views on transboundary disaster risks, including current challenges, gaps, and needs; discussed opportunities to promote inter-regional collaboration in addressing transboundary disaster risks and other emerging issues; and identified potential areas of cooperation.

 

The inaugural ADRF, held under the theme Mobilising ASEAN and Its Partners on the Journey towards Building a Disaster Resilient ASEAN Community, shared the perspectives of the ACDM and the relevant ASEAN sectoral bodies  on the overall progress in building disaster resilience in the ASEAN region, current challenges brought by the evolving, multiple, and complex disaster risk landscape, and ways forward to enhance the capacity and readiness of ASEAN.

 

Representatives of ASEAN partners to the forum also had the chance to share their thoughts on the gaps and opportunities to shape disaster resilience in ASEAN, and their potential contributions to further build disaster resilience in the region, including through leveraging on science, technology and innovation, empowering communities, and strengthening socio-cultural, economic and financial agility in the region.

 

Forum participants from public and private sectors exchanged views on the ways to promote public-private partnership in disaster management and deliberated on innovative ways to use such partnerships in building disaster resilience in the ASEAN region.

 

At the Commemoration of the 20th Anniversary of the ACDM, a video showcasing the two-decade journey of ACDM in strengthening disaster management in the region was played followed by the launch of the commemoration.

 

Under the theme Disaster Resilience: Investing Today for a Sustainable Region, the SPDDM 2023 discussed forward-looking ideas that can potentially enhance disaster resilience in the future with an emphasis on the importance of acting and investing now. The dialogue discussed specific topics on how to build resilience to climate-induced disasters, enhance communication and early action for proactive disaster management, and promote better risk governance and innovative technology in disaster management.

 

The whole series of events was attended by more than 250 participants from ACDM, other ASEAN Sectoral Bodies, ASEAN external partners, regional organisations, UN agencies, multilateral financial institutions, Red Cross and Red Cresent movement, international NGOs, academia, philanthropic organisations, and the business sector. ACDM Champions from ASEAN Member States and former Secretaries-General of ASEAN Ambassador Ong Keng Yong and Dato’ Lim Jock Hoi were also in attendance.

 

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