Virtual Course on Risk Reduction

The U.N. International Strategy for Disaster Reduction, the Delnet Program, and the International Training Center of the International Labour Organization announce the beginning of a course on Disaster Risk Reduction and Sustainable Local Development on 18 March.

The course, which combines virtual and class sessions, will promote policies and actions for disaster risk reduction within the framework of sustainable local development. It will focus on participatory strategic planning as a way to share knowledge about including disaster risk reduction as an integral part of local development processes, among other objectives. The course is intended for Spanish-speaking participants of the Americas (North, Central, or South) and the Caribbean, and particularly for political authorities, technical personnel, workers in government and private institutions and agencies, and civil society. For more information visit www.itcilo.org/delnet or gestion.riesgo@delnetitcilo.

CRID Receives Award
from the Elsevier Foundation

The Regional Disaster Information Center for Latin America and the Caribbean (CRID) received a US$ 40,000 award from the Elsevier Foundation, a world renowned publisher in the area of medicine and health sciences.

The award was for the category “Innovative libraries in developing countries.” The Foundation provides annual grants to libraries in developing countries to enhance their capacity in the fields of science, technology, and medicine. The award will be used to strengthen the Central American Network for Disaster and Health Information, as well as the Andean Network of Virtual Libraries for Disaster Prevention and Relief. The award recognizes the work of CRID, which, for more than a decade, has given specialists and the general public access to disaster-related information, thereby promoting a culture of prevention. For more information, write to Isabel.lopez@crid.org.cr.