Children and disaster risk reduction: CBSS Children at Risk and Civil Security teams kick off a new cross-sectoral project
On 29 March 2023, PA Secure Kids – a new project “Strengthening children’s participation in civil protection and building resilient societies” was officially kicked off during an online event. The project aims at strengthening meaningful child participation in disaster risk reduction.
“Children’s involvement is not an event – it is an ongoing and valuable process that will generate positive outcomes. With this project, we are looking at system change. Disaster Risk Reduction by nature is an adult dominated area. We will need to pioneer new ways how to engage children and make sure that they are not invited as guests, but as partners.”
Olivia Lind Haldorsson, Head of Children at Risk Unit at the CBSS
Project partners from the CBSS Secretariat, Safe Cities Commission of the Union of the Baltic Cities, Creative Association for Youth TREPES and Liepaja Municipal Police in Latvia discussed planned activities and decided on practicalities and next steps to get work started.
The project builds on the insight that building safe, secure, and resilient societies cannot be done without the involvement of children. Thus, the project will focus on children as actors in crisis management, civil protection authorities working with and towards child participation in crisis and on relevant decision-makers. In the words of a project partner: “With the project, children […] join us in preparing for, dealing with and teaching about crisis/disasters […].”
The project partners are going to map existing best practices of child participation in disaster risk reduction in the Baltic Sea Region, strengthen and further develop child participation mechanisms and tools. Furthermore, strategic guidance for inclusive crisis communication with children will be developed. Awareness for inclusive crisis communication will be raised and concrete examples and tools tested in scenario-based workshops.
Importantly, the project is going to proceed in an inclusive manner and children will be actively involved throughout the project and co-produce project activities and outcomes.
“With the project, children and youth will join us in preparing for, dealing with and teaching about crisis/disasters we deal with.”
Franziska Seufert, Project Coordinator at the CBSS
“We will build cooperation with children and youth in a creative and active way to involve them in crisis management and let them have a voice.”
Ilze Norvaiša, Creative Youth Association TREPES
Project partners are committed to empowering both children and adults to engage with each other, learn from each other and develop our resources and activities to prevent and address disasters together.
The project is co-funded by the EU and coordinated by the Council of the Baltic Sea States Secretariat.
