The workshop, held from 2-3 October in Budva, Montenegro, was hosted by the Directorate of Emergency Situations of the Government of Montenegro within the framework of the DPPI SEE and was organized in cooperation with DPPI SEE Secretariat, UNICEF Regional Office for Central and Eastern Europe and Commonwealth of Independent States (CEE/CIS) and UNISDR Office for Europe. The workshop presents Montenegrin contribution to the DPPI SEE Disaster Management Training Programme 2013.
Government representatives from ten countries of the South Eastern Europe (SEE) region participated in the workshop, notably Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Macedonia (former Yugoslav Republic of), Moldova, Montenegro, Romania, Serbia, Slovenia and Turkey. Unfortunately, Croatia could not be represented at the meeting. The country delegations included a mix of participants, including civil protection agencies, education sectors, school directors and local governments. In addition, there were representatives from DPPI Secretariat, UNICEF Regional Office and UNICEF Country Offices (BiH, Moldova and Montenegro), UNISDR Europe and UNDP Montenegro. The workshop was facilitated by a DRR expert from Switzerland, who until 2012 was a member of the Swiss National Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction (PLANAT).
As the title of the workshop suggests, the main purpose of the workshop was to provide a forum to relevant government representatives in the SEE region to share knowledge, exchange experience and discuss good practices in disaster risk reduction, with a particular focus on HFA Priority 3. By doing so, the workshop contributed to the advancement of the goals set under the Priority # 3 i.e. use knowledge, innovation and education to build a culture of safety and resilience at all levels. The workshop also provided a unique opportunity to establish or further strengthen communication and networking between the governments and organizations supporting their efforts in risk reduction.
