Zainab Faruqui Ali, Professor and Chairperson, Department of Architecture attended the International Workshop on Models for Multinational Collaboration on Disaster Resilience at The Institute for Disaster Management and Reconstruction (IDMR), Sichuan University, Chengdu, China held on June 30 – July 4, 2019. Introductory session was held at IDRM, chaired by Gretchen Kalonji, the Dean of the Sichuan University-Hong Kong Polytechnic University Institute for Disaster Management and Reconstruction, who had served as the Assistant Director–General for Natural Sciences at UNESCO. The workshop ended with a notable lecture titled “Air and Water: Are they Free Goods?” by Dr. Han Seung-soo, former Prime Minister of the Republic of Korea, former President of the UN General Assembly, Chair of the High-Level Panel on Water and Disasters (HELP):
The workshop was attended by Himalaya University Consortium (HUC) Thematic Working Group on Disaster Risk Reduction. A focused session on the Koshi Basin Initiative, and in particular on the creation of its Koshi Basin DRR Knowledge Hub and on the activities of its trans-boundary working group on GLOFs (global lake outburst floods).
An introduction to “Alliance of Alliances on Water and Disasters”, a newly launched multinational DRR initiative, was made to the participants. This was launched through the UN High Level Panel on Water and Disasters (HELP), and the newly created Alliance of National Science Organizations on Disaster Risk Reduction in belt and road regions.
The workshop was aimed: 1) To emerge with a more nuanced understanding of the pragmatics of multinational alliances; 2) To explore possible effective linkages among the various efforts underway, and; 3) To develop more concrete and specific plans of action, particularly for the HUC working group.
Professor Zainab Faruqui Ali represented Brac University and Bangladesh; and presented the role of Postgraduate Program in Disaster Management (PPDM) of Brac University. She took part in the ‘Curricula Development’ Session where representatives from India, USA, Bangladesh, Afghanistan, Denmark, Thailand and Myanmar participated to asses and collaborate on developing and strengthening DRR curricula in various member institutions. The group proposed a few options for collaborations. This proposal will be taken into action after the approval expected to be gained shortly from IDMR, Sichuan University.