Organized by UCLG-MEWA in cooperation with UCLG, UNDRR ROAS, and ATO, the “Disaster Risk Reduction and Urban Resilience Training for Arab Cities” brought together 60 representatives from 40 Arab cities in Dibba Al-Fujairah, United Arab Emirates
on November 1-2.
In the opening session held on the first day, Mehmet Duman, UCLG-MEWA Secretary General, Hassan Yamahi, Director General of Dibba Al-Fujairah Municipality, and Ahmad El Subih, Secretary General of ATO delivered opening speeches. Sujit Mohanty, Chief of UNDRR ROAS, sent a video message. In his opening speech, Mehmet Duman indicated that the Disaster Risk Reduction and Urban Resilience Training will bring expertise in this field to Arab cities and raise awareness on the important role of cities in urban resilience.
The training was designed according to the Resilience Learning Module prepared by UCLG in cooperation with UNDRR, and UN-Habitat and was lectured by Dr. Jalal Al-Dabbeek, Director of Urban Planning and Disaster Risk Reduction Center at from An-Najah National University in Palestine. In the interactive sessions, participants had the opportunity to take part in discussions and work together on relevant scenarios. During the course of the training, participants were informed about the concrete steps local governments can take towards urban resilience and disaster risk reduction, as well as global agendas such as, the Sustainable Development Goals, Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction, and MCR2030.