The Multi-Hazard Early Warning Conference was held this week in Cancun Mexico along side the Global Platform on Disaster Risk Reduction. Experts and young professionals from across the globe joined together to discuss and evaluate how we can collectively reach the Target G of the Sendai Framework to:
Substantially increase the availability of and access to multi-hazard early warning systems and disaster risk information and assessments to the people by 2030.
Collaboration between policy-makers, practitioners and researchers from multiple disciplines and all geographical regions from local, national, regional and
international levels is needed to ensure effective (Multi-Hazard) Early Warning Systems (EWS). Young professionals play such a pivotal role in developing and implementing (Multi-Hazard) EWSs globally but need to be connected and supported to maintain and improve this role.
The Water Youth Network presented a poster at the MH-EWS conference outlining the importance to connect and support the young professionals across disciplines NOW so they can innovate and collaborate to ensure people-centered and effective EWS are being designed and implemented. The poster is available here. The Water Youth Network together with RIMES, Deltares and IHE-Delft has started a simple initiative to connect these young people and welcome support from the International Network on MH-EWS and other agencies to do this in an effective and sustainable way from global to local levels.
If you would like to read more on why it is so important to enable this cross-disciplinary collaboration NOW for young MH-EWS professionals, Cumiskey et al. (2017) has recently published an article on this important topic “Developing and implementing effective (multi-hazard) early warning systems: the vital role of young professionals” in the Youth Science Policy Interface Platform Publication, Page 24 – 31, and is available here.
Furthermore, we welcome young professionals to contribute to the outcome documents of the EWS conference available here!!
- EWS Checklist
- Evaluating EWS effectiveness
Interested in joining the initiative? Please contact l.cumiskey@wateryouthnetwork.org to see how we can join forces!
