MEDIA ADVISORY
Commemoration of the 2015 International Day for Disaster Reduction (IDDR) in Ethiopia 11-14 October 2015
INVITATION TO REPRESENTATIVES OF THE MEDIA

What: Celebrating International Day for Disaster Reduction (IDDR) in Ethiopia

Theme: “Knowledge for Life”

Who: African Union Commission and the Government of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia

When: 14th October 2015 from 9.00 A.M

Where: Hilton Hotel, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

Objectives:
i. To promote the importance of IDDR in advocating the culture of prevention and reduction of disaster risks in the context of sustainable development and thus strengthening the resilience of persons, communities, countries and their assets; and
ii. To raise awareness and generate political commitment for effective implementation of the Sendai Framework on the African continent with full engagement of local people and use of indigenous and traditional knowledge.

Expected Outcomes:

i. The event is expected to create awareness on existence of plenty of (currently used & other untapped) indigenous and traditional knowledge and local experiences which should form the basis of local level decision making in disaster risk reduction for resilience and hence play a crucial role in the implementation of the Sendai Framework
ii. The event is also expected to provide a unique opportunity to update participants including African Permanent Missions on progress made so far and follow-up actions identified to effectively implement the Sendai Framework in Africa thereby helping generate increased awareness and political commitment to effectively implement this global framework across the continent. Above all the event will help raise awareness and generate commitment to promote risk informed development planning and investment thereby contributing to the achievement of sustainable development..hhhh

Participants: Over 250 participants representing Federal and Regional government institutions, AUC, African Permanent Missions in Addis Ababa, UN-agencies, World Bank, NGOs, diverse media groups, and other institutions are expected to attend the event.

Background: The Government of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia will celebrate the IDDR for the 6th time and for the 2nd time jointly with the African Union Commission (AUC) with participation of the African Permanent Missions. This year’s IDDR will be the first to be celebrated after the adoption of the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015-2030 at the 3rd World Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction held from 14 to 18 March 2015 in Sendai, Japan. There will, therefore, be a dedicated session on the Sendai Framework where progress made so far and follow-up actions identified to ensure effective implementation of the Framework on the African Continent will be discussed.

Media representatives are invited to cover the event.

For media enquiry pleases contact:
Ms. Carol Jilombo, Department of Rural Economy and Agriculture; AUC; jilomboc@africa-union.org

Mr. Molalet Tsedeke; Directorate of Information and Communication, AUC;molalett@africa-union.org;