MapaKalamidad.ph to hold virtual workshop on social media, youth engagement, and disaster risk reduction
Why is it important for young people to participate in disaster risk reduction? How can social media support youth participation in disaster risk reduction? What actions can young people undertake to participate in the disaster risk reduction and management (DRRM) efforts?
In light of the incoming typhoon season, MapaKalamidad.ph will lead a virtual workshop on June 5 (Saturday, 10 am) to highlight the role of social media in amplifying the active engagement of young people in DRRM. The “#Kabataanetizens: Social Media, Youth Engagement, and Disaster Risk Reduction” workshop will delve into the potential of young people in building community-based resilience by engaging their communities in activities to become prepared for disasters.
MapaKalamidad.ph is a free web-based platform for real-time crowd-sourced hazard mapping. Developed by Yayasan Peta Bencana (Disaster Map Foundation), a non-profit organization based in Southeast Asia, it utilizes open-source infrastructures and harnesses the use of social media during emergency events to gather confirmed on-the-ground updates from ordinary citizens and display these reports on a publicly accessible live web-based map.
MapaKalamidad.ph is currently available to residents in Quezon City and Pampanga where residents can share flood information anonymously by sending a Facebook message to @mapakalamidad, tweeting #flood or #baha to @mapakalamidad, or sending a Telegram message to @kalamidadbot. Government agencies can monitor the map to assess the disaster situation and respond to the needs of the residents.
The virtual workshop is open to students and youth leaders who are interested in using social media to increase the resilience of their communities during disasters. This event is in collaboration with different partners including the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), Office of Civil Defense, National DRRM Council, Pampanga DRRM Office, and the Quezon City DRRM Office. This event is also in partnership with the Quezon City Youth Development Office, Angeles City Youth Development Office, National Youth Commission, East-West Center, The Climate Reality Project Philippines, Don Honorio Ventura State University (DHVSU) Junior Social Workers Association, DHVSU College of Arts and Sciences Student Council. Central Luzon Television and Rappler will be the event’s official media partners.
The resource speaker of the webinar will be Maricor Pauline De Guzman (UNV Disaster Risk Reduction Officer of UNICEF). It will also feature messages from Asec. Paul Anthony Pangilinan (Commissioner-At-Large of National Youth Commission), Joseph Curry (Regional Adviser, USAID Bureau for Humanitarian Assistance), Nashin Mahtani (Director, Yayasan Peta Bencana), Angelina Blanco (Head, Pampanga DRRM Office), and Karl Michael Marasigan (Head, Quezon City DRRM Office). In addition, Elton Evidente, Geospatial Data Coordinator of Yayasan Peta Bencana, will conduct a training on how MapaKalamidad.ph can be used by student and youth organizations to support social media-powered and community-based DRRM initiatives.
“In MapaKalamidad.ph, we recognize the potential of young people in gathering most up-to-date information, which can support non-profit organizations, humanitarian networks, national and local government agencies, and community groups in more effectively responding to and managing disasters. During disaster situations, Kabataanetizens are envisioned to undertake an active role by reporting real-time disaster information to the platform to help not only their neighbors, but also government agencies and first responders in better understanding and responding to on-the-ground situations,” said Ferth Vandensteen Manaysay, project and partnerships manager of Yayasan Peta Bencana, who added that the workshop hopes to kick-off MapaKalamidad.ph’s network of DRRM youth reporters and ambassadors.
