On 8 November 2018, over 100 participants from more than 20 countries participated in the Knowledge Partnership Day (KPD) in Brussels, hosted by the European Commission and the ACP Secretariat. The participants – including government officials from ACP countries and regions, the ACP Secretariat, the European Commission, NGOs, and the World Bank – discussed and shared lessons on how to build resilience at the community level and promote inclusive risk governance.
Presentation by Ms. Fatiman Ahler, KPD, 8 November 2018
The KPD consisted of presentations, keynote speeches, interactive sessions and group discussions. Ms. Fatiman Ahler (Director of Niger Digital Cartography Agency, President of Femme & TIC Niger) stressed in her keynote speech the importance of including women in DRM activities and decision-making. Empowering women was also addressed by Ms. Margaret Arnold (Senior Social Development Specialist and Head of GFDRR’s Social Resilience Program, World Bank), who presented the World Bank’s engagement on social resilience.
Delegates from various ACP countries – Mozambique, Solomon Islands, Samoa and St. Lucia – shared best practices on building resilience. This includes paying particular attention to remote communities, developing methodologies on how to advance local adaptation plans, and including communities in the process of developing studies on disaster risk. Various NGOs, such as the Global Network of Civil Society Organizations for Disaster Reduction, shared in addition their approach on how to engage with at-risk communities.
Participants during the KPD, 8 November 2018
The group discussions that followed the presentations, allowed for further in-depth exchanges on building inclusive resilience and the role of civil society therein. It became clear that ACP countries, regions, and communities can learn from each other’s experiences, and that South-South knowledge exchange events such as the KPD provide a good occasion for such interaction.
The summary report of the KPD is available here.
A summary video of the Focus Day and Knowledge Partnership Day is available here.
Several ACP Delegates were also interviewed during both events. Click here to watch them.