Kingstown, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, October 11th, 2015 (NEMO) - Tuesday 13th October, 2015 is celebrated as International Day for Disaster Reduction, under the theme “KNOWLEDGE FOR LIFE”.
The focus of this year’s International Day for Disaster Reduction is on the traditional, indigenous and local knowledge which complement modern science and add to an individual’s and societies’ resilience.
The National Emergency Management Organisation (NEMO) will collaborate with the Ministry of Education to celebrate International Day for Disaster Reduction and the following activities will be conducted as part of the celebration;
A daily Public Awareness Quiz on NBC Radio 705 during the period October 13 - 16, 2015. Prizes will range from First Aid Kits, clean up equipment such as shovels, cutlasses and picks, portable radio and water proof flashlight with batteries.
At 10:00 a.m. on Tuesday 13th October, 2015, there will be a graduation ceremony to hand over certificates to one hundred and five young persons who completed the Pan American Development Foundation Climate Change Adaptation/Disaster Risk Reduction Training. This training took place during the period November, 2014 - June, 2015 in the communities of Georgetown, Spring Village and Bequia.
In addition to the Climate Change and Adaptation Training, participants were also exposed to life saving skills training such as fire safety, first aid and GPS hazard mapping.
At 8:00 p.m on Tuesday 13th October, 2015, a twenty minute feature will be televised by the Agency for Public Information (API). This will feature persons from the communities of
Chateaubelair and Fancy sharing their traditional and local knowledge as it relates to the weather systems and disasters.
The activities to mark International Day for Disaster Reduction will come to an end during Independence Week, when the Ministry of Education will judge the videos produced by students, which will feature the traditional, indigenous and local knowledge in their communities which complement modern science and add to an individual’s and societies’ resilience.