Read the proceedings of the RESILIENCE workshop
24 november, Brussels
In connection with the RESILIENCE research project and with support from the European Commission, Groupe URD, Care Nederland and the University of Wageningen ran a Stakeholder Workshop on 24 November 2011 entitled “The Road to RESILIENCE: Converging Actors, Integrating Approaches”.
This workshop was an opportunity to compare the results obtained after a year and a half of research carried out as part of the RESILIENCE project and the experiences of the main European actors involved in Disaster Risk Reduction, Climate Change Adaptation and Poverty Reduction. Around thirty representatives from NGOs, European NGO networks, the Red Cross Movement, donor bodies and representatives of Member States worked in groups to identify the limits to integrating these three sectors and how these can be overcome.
It clearly emerged that the concept of “resilience”, which has been used more and more in recent years and which has already been adopted by donors, was a relevant terms for humanitarian and development actors as it encompasses the multiple factors with which local communities are confronted – climate change and natural and socio-economic risks.
However, this concept needs to be clearly defined and made operational, that is, split into a series of common indicators which can be adapted to different operational contexts. This could be used as the basis of the interactive tool that Groupe URD will develop during 2012.
Another idea which emerged from the working groups was that there is a need to develop tools to integrate the three sectors (Climate Change Adaptation, Risk Reduction and Poverty Reduction) within projects, NGOs and donor funding policies.
The work done during the RESILIENCE conference will be a chance to produce recommendations for the European Union’s development aid policy, which it will be able to integrate into its financial plan for 2014-2020.
