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IDER 2011- International Disaster and Emergency Resilience

13 April 2011 - 14 April 2011

The 11th IDER will be held in Florence, Italy, on Wednesday 13th and Thursday 14th April 2011 and is hosted by the University of Florence, Centre for Civil Protection and Risk Studies (CESPRO). The main theme for IDER 2011 is Community Resilience – the impact of climate change and natural and man-made disasters.

The importance of Community Resilience was highlighted by the IDER Mission to The Philippines, in March 2010, when it became clear that, in the face of disaster, there is the need for greater resilience at the local level. There is always a gap between the immediate impact of a disaster and the response of the national and international relief agencies.

The recent experiences of the floods in Pakistan and the earthquake in Haiti are examples of this where millions are affected with little immediate aid. Aid gathers pace, of course, but cannot reasonably be expected to be available immediately. What is required is greater individual responsibility and local community resilience.  

There has to be a balance to improving disaster preparedness. A ‘top down’ and a ‘bottom up’ approach addresses the issue from both ends of the spectrum and leads to integrated disaster management. In addition to improving local community resilience, there is a need for the training and exercising of the executive leadership and the various national and regional Disaster Coordinating Councils (DCCs) or their equivalents. The aim is to close the gap between the top and the bottom. There is much to be done .

Read more about the conference