Secure Kids Releases Overview on Youth Involvement in Disaster Risk Reduction in the BSR
The CBSS-coordinated Secure Kids project has produced the mapping report titled "Existing mechanisms and processes for child and youth participation in Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) in Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, and Sweden", detailing the involvement of minors in DRR activities across these nations.
Secure Kids, a project on child participation in disaster risk reduction, has recently published an overview of existing mechanisms and practices in the Baltic Sea Region to involve children and young people in disaster risk reduction.
The report provides an up-to-date overview of existing mechanisms and practices in the Baltic Sea Region (BSR) to involve children and young people in DRR practices. The mapping exercise serves as the initial step in the development of sustainable and inclusive mechanisms for child participation in planning, implementation and follow-up of national and local measures for building resilient societies.
The CBSS-led Secure Kids project aims to enhance the sustainability and impact of child participation mechanisms in disaster risk reduction activities and decision-making processes, contributing to the development of resilient societies.
To compile the mapping report, children and young people from BSR countries were consulted through a survey. Their responses were complemented by perspectives of selected adult key informants, specifically professionals working on disaster risk reduction, with a focus on the involvement of children and youth.
The mapping exercise revealed that, in general, children have been informed about or involved in DRR-related activities. However, this engagement occurs sporadically rather than on a regular basis. The survey indicated that no consistent mechanisms are in place across the surveyed countries to regularly involve children and young people in DRR activities, apart from awareness-raising and educational initiatives in schools, as well as training programmes offered by certain associations.
The survey results underscore the pressing need to establish effective and sustainable mechanisms for regularly involving children and young people in evaluating disaster risks, preventing and responding to disasters, and preparing them for active roles in recovery and rebuilding activities.
Read the full mapping report of the Secure Kids project.
The Secure Kids project is funded by the European Union. For more information about the project, visit the project’s page.