SDC past events

Find additional Trainings and Webinars (for members only).

2022

Following the SDC DRR Network Newsletter N°2/2021, the E-Discussion conducted from 19h of January to 9th of February 2022 aimed at continued exchange and understanding on the topic of Early Warning - Early Action and Anticipatory Action. It provided with an opportunity to spotlight experiences and link to relevant expertise and peers.

The complete discussion is available here (for members only).

Recap week 1 [EN] [FR] [SP]
Recap week 2 [EN] [FR] [SP]
Recap week 3 [EN] [FR] [SP]

A mid-way "live event" was organised on the 1st of February as amplifying group exchange. Access the documentation here.

The summary document is highlighting the main insights of the discussion [EN] [FR] [SP].

2021

The Disaster Risk Reduction Network and the Gender Network together with the Swiss NGO DRR Platform organised a learning event on 24 & 25 November 2021 with the aim to understand the Gender Dimension in 'Natural' Disasters, working with Gender and DRR approaches and tools.

The programme, the documentation and the report can be found here.

The SDC thematic Networks Climate Change & Environment, DRR and Education co-organised a webinar on “Climate Change, Disaster Risk Reduction and the Role of Education – Sharing project experiences and good practices from addressing climate change and DRR through the education sector”. Check out the webinar slides, the recording and the main takeaways here.

2019

The DRR Network and the working group from the Learning Journey on urban-rural linkages organized a Brown Bag Lunch (BBL) on resilience in urban areas: from concepts to practice with inputs from Michael Szönyi (Zurich Flood Resilience Alliance), Sarah Sabry (Save the Children) and Reto Bühler/ Christian Willi (EBP).

Download the presentations with the links below and read the presenters' key points.

- Michael Szönyi (Zurich): Experience from the Flood Resilience Alliance Initiative.

- Sarah Sabry ( Save the Children): Experience working in Urban Slums of Bangladesh.

- Reto Bühler / Christian Willi (EBP): Experience on risk and resilience assessments of urban water systems.

The Multilateral Division, the SDC, the Humanitarian Aid and SHA invites to a Brown Bag Lunch (BBL) on the recent SDC-financed ODI/UNDP report on Risk-informed development. The report highlights the need for development taking into account complex and interrelated risks such as climate change, economic instability and geopolitical volatility, among others. The report calls for a multi-hazard risk analysis; systematic assessment of risks to ensure resilience; the identification of stakeholders and actors; the understanding and analysis of trade-offs; and the need of a strong evidence base for policy-making. It promotes ecosystem protection and natural resource management as one of the elements for sustainable and risk-informed development. Download the full report here.

BBL presentation: Risk-informed development: From crisis to resilience

The DRR team invited to the exclusive presentation of the new GFDRR flagship report "Lifelines: The Resilient Infrastructure Opportunity" by Stephane Hallegatte, Lead Economist, World Bank/GFDRR.

The report lays out a framework for understanding infrastructure resilience and makes an economic case for building more resilient infrastructure.

Check out the presentation or download the report.

The thematic Network event jointly organised by the Global programme Climate Change and Environment (GPCCE) and the Global programme Water (GPW) of the SDC aimed at providing a floor for discussing and learning more about the topic of "Nature-based Solutions for Sustainable Development", to foster a shared understanding of the development relevance and potential of NbS concepts and to work out the areas of tension and trade-offs of these concepts.

Read the Event summary

2018

When a disaster strikes, schools are damaged or destroyed, teachers and students are injured or killed and education is disrupted, sometimes for lengthy periods. It is therefore vital to ensure that children have access to quality education in the safest possible environment. DRR in the education sector addresses the universal access to quality education, the recurring humanitarian imperative for education in emergencies and safeguards education-sector investments.

The SDC Education and Disaster Risk Reduction DRR Networks jointly organized a brown-bag lunch on 4 June 2018 to discuss DRR in the education sector, based on the example of the Comprehensive School Safety Framework (CSSF). Save the Children Switzerland presented their work on the implementation of the CSSF in China. The SDC Office Myanmar introduced its work on safe school construction and on school-community DRR trainings through skype. See the presentations below:

- Sarah Sabry (Save the Children): Introduction. DRR in Education and Comprehensive School Safety

- Sarah Sabry (Save the Children): China: School Safety in Sichuan

- Mark Häussermann (SDC): South-East Myanmar Intervention by SDC-HA

This BBL covered the content and potential for application of the publication "Where people and their land are safer - A Compendium of Good Practices in DRR" which was published in December 2017 as a co- production between the Swiss NGO DRR Platform and the World Overview of Conservation Approaches and Technologies (WOCAT) of the Centre for Development and Environment (CDE).

Over recent decades, the members of the Swiss NGO DRR Platform carried out DRR activities around the globe, many of which are related to the use and management of land and water resources. This publication is a collection of best practices and illustrates important linkages between Sustainable Land Management (SLM) and DRR for reducing disasters by preserving and restoring natural resources to build resilience. It serves as a reference tool for practitioners from different sectors - DRR, water and sanitation, food security or agriculture - to include good DRR practices in the planning, design and implementation of development and humanitarian projects. Part 1 of the book provides a sumary of key concepts and highlights the important potential of sustainable land management as a valid strategy for reducing disaster risk and adapting to a changing climate. In the second part 30 show cases of DRR practices from 11 countries around the globe are documented.

See the presentation here or watch the video.

Find here the web version with the full set of 44 Technologies and Approaches.

The Swiss Copperation Office (SCO) in Tajikistan has hosted a regional seminar on disaster risk reduction, water management and climate change in Central Asia and the South Caucasus.

Around 30 people from the SDC, the Swiss State Secretariat for economic affairs and key partner organisations from Central Asia (Tajikistan, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan), South Caucasus (Georgia), Pakistan and Switzerland participated in the event in Khorog, Gorno- Badakhshan Autonomous Region.

The Seminar was preceded by an online discussion in English and in Russian language, involving nearly a hundred participants from both regions and from Europe. The discussion was based on four scientific papers produced specifically for the event on the latest state of knowledge on climate change and its impacts on disasters risks and water availability in Central Asia and the Caucasus, existing institutions and challenges in responding to these issues, as well as pathways to sustainable solutions and key concepts.

Among others, the conclusions of the workshop highlight the need for a cross-sectoral approach that is people-centred and that integrates climate change, disaster risks reduction and water management. It also underlines the role of the state in harmonising knowledge and disseminating good practices, and stresses the importance and benefits of improved regional cooperation on these issues.

Read the Background Information Paper, the Thematic Input Papers 1, 2 and 3, and the Final Report.

Climate Resilient Agriculture has become a buzzword in the current decade, giving the ideal of a multifunctional agriculture a new importance. But: Is it possible to increase productivity, build resilience and mitigate greenhouse gas emissions all together? Or are these contrasting goals and clear trade-offs between the three are unavoidable? Should we aim for a "Climate Wise Agriculture” with elements such as fairer access to food production assets, more sustainable consumption patterns and ecological intensification?

The SDC hosted Networks RésEAU (Water), DRR, Employment and Income, Climate Change and Environment and Agriculture and Food Security as well as Swiss partner NGOs and other interested networks ventured jointly on a Learning Journey on Climate Resilient Agriculture.

It aimed at:

learning about key elements of Climate Resilient Agriculture & Food Systems;
determining quality criteria for good programmes, projects and activities aiming at Climate Resilient Agriculture & Food Systems;
coordinating action to continuously improve our policies, planning, practice, evaluation, funding, research, knowledge-management and communication in order to optimize productivity, resilience/adaptation, the achievement of other development goals (e.g. gender equality) under changing and challenging weather conditions and mitigation of greenhouse gases.

The activities of the learning journey included an online dialogue and a webinar series.

See the invitation and programme and the concept of the learning journey.

Have a look at the Outcomes of the online dialogue and the webinars.

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2017

Integrating climate change, environmental degradation and DRR into development cooperation: this thematic event jointly organised by the SDC Networks Climate Change and Environment (CC&E) and DRR aimed at providing a critical and multi-faceted review of mainstreaming experiences from around the world including good practices and failures.

Explore the agenda, the key messages and the presentations below:

- Irina Kulenovic (Office of the UN Resident Coordinator in BiH: Risk-Proofing the Western Balkans): Empowering People to Prevent Disasters.

- Nicole Clot (Helvetas): Assessing Climate Risks and Vulnerabilities in Market Systems. An Example of Mainstreaming CC/DRM in the Coffee sector in Nepal.

- Sergio Pérez (SDC): Mainstreaming DRR and CCA in small municipalities. Cases from Bolivia.

- Thomas Probst (BAFU/FOEN): Mainstreaming at state level: integrating climate change adaptation into Swiss sectoral strategies.

- Ali Jawad (Helvetas): Efficient water management contributing to food security and good governance.

- Anton Jöhr (Swiss Red Cross): DRR and CCA mainstreaming: SRC Practice in Nepal Projects.

- Sabina Handschin (SDC): Mainstreaming DRR & E/CC in Education a necessity and an opportunity. Examples from the policy and operational levels.