#IDRC2014… we came, we saw, we shared with the world!

We are pleased to share highlights of our presentation to the 5th International Disaster and Risk Conference #IDRC2014 at Davos Switzerland 24-28 August 2014, organised by the Global Risk Forum in cooperation with the United Nations Office for Disaster Reduction (UNISDR).

We were excited to have this opportunity to showcase the Emergency 2.0 Wiki on the world stage, share our message on how countries can build disaster resilience through a whole of community approach to using social media, and also influence future world policy.

At #IDRC2014 opening ceremony. Inspired to be in the company of the world's best minds coming together to build disaster resilience.

— Emergency 2.0 Wiki (@emergency20wiki) August 24, 2014

It was a powerful opportunity to share how our work had supported the implementation of the Hyogo Framework for Action, and to influence future world policy, making recommendations for the Post 2015 Disaster Risk Reduction Framework to be ratified at the UN World Conference WCDRR in Sendai Japan in 2015. We did this via our presentation, an extended abstract, a personal statement and a video Red Chair Statement.

Our work & recommendations for Post 2015 Disaster Risk Reduction Framework #IDRC2014 #smem pic.twitter.com/txsyTEfAG3

— Emergency 2.0 Wiki (@emergency20wiki) August 28, 2014

How our work supported the implementation of the Hyogo Framework for Action:

Priority 1: Promoting community participation and social networking
Priority 2: Providing guidance on how to act on early warnings via social media
Priority 3, 5: Facilitating exchange of information on good practices and lessons learned
Priority 4: Providing a social media accessibility toolkit for people with disabilities

Recommendations to address the main gaps, needs and further steps to be addressed in the Post 2015 Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction in:

Research: provide practical recommendations for using social media, lessons learned, short timeframes to ensure relevance
Education & Training: capacity build communities to use social media
Implementation & Practice: provide social media tools and platforms to enable the community to help themselves and each other
Policy: apply a whole of community approach to using social media in disasters, recognising the potential for social media to make resilience a social norm

Red Chair Statement

To view our submission documents, please visit our policy submission page.

Our presentation

Our presentation topic was “The importance of a whole of community approach to using social media for disaster resilience and how the Emergency 2.0 Wiki can help.”

Idrc14 ppp-eileen culleton final from Emergency 2.0 Wiki

We believe that social media can play a transformative role in making disaster resilience a social norm. Social media offers the potential to help create a level of resilience that ensures communities don’t just ‘bounce back’ after a disaster, but ‘bounce forward’, becoming stronger with increased social networks, social cohesion and social capital.

Social media can help make disaster resilience a social norm #IDRC2014 #smem #vost #socialgood http://t.co/zlUceFeEha

— Emergency 2.0 Wiki (@emergency20wiki) August 28, 2014

This requires a ‘whole of community approach’ in which the community becomes partners in using social media for disaster resilience. We explained how along with emergency response agencies, all sectors of the community: local government, schools, hospitals, ngos, community groups, faith based groups, service clubs, business and citizens; have a role to play in disaster resilience, showcasing examples from around the world.

Community groups can play an integral role in using social media to build disaster resilience #IDRC2014 #smem pic.twitter.com/5s2CFXKpyV

— Emergency 2.0 Wiki (@emergency20wiki) August 28, 2014

We also made special mention of the vital role of digital volunteers.

Digital volunteers can play a vital role in disaster resilience #IDRC2014 @VOST1 @HumanityRoad @Digihums #VOST pic.twitter.com/kZXravfo5S

— Emergency 2.0 Wiki (@emergency20wiki) August 28, 2014

We emphasised the need for capacity building and to provide the social media tools to empower the community to help themselves & others in disasters #IDRC2014:

Need to provide social media tools to empower the community to help themselves & others in disasters #IDRC2014 pic.twitter.com/316hXjDeku

— Emergency 2.0 Wiki (@emergency20wiki) August 28, 2014

This involved highlighting the importance of empowering people with a disability to overcome social media accessibility issues to access alerts, and we showcased our social media accessibility toolkit for resilience:

Showcasing the wiki social media accessibility toolkit for resilience at #IDRC2014 http://t.co/7b388N97DZ #a11y pic.twitter.com/REgKglNNf3

— Emergency 2.0 Wiki (@emergency20wiki) August 28, 2014

Strategic Contacts

We also made strategic contacts for potential future alliances and projects. Watch this space for updates…

With thanks to our Sponsor

We would like to thank our major sponsor, Emergency Management Australia, part of the Australian Attorney General’s Department, for making our presence at #IDRC2014 possible.

We also thank our other numerous supporters who also contributed to make this a reality.

We look forward to continuing to help the international community use social media to ensure disaster resilience becomes a social norm.

Many thanks,

Eileen

Eileen Culleton, Founder & CEO (Voluntary role)