Meaningful Engagement andParticipation of Community includingChildren and YouthMs Vanda Lengkong

Plan International Asia Pacific Hub,Indonesia

APMCDRR2022 PE: Building Resilient Communities by Investing in DRR Literacy for Proactive Actions focusing on “Leave No One Behind”

By. Vanda Lengkong, Regional Head of DRM
Plan International Asia Pacific

Presented at the APMCDRR 2022 Partner Event hosted by ADRC in Brisbane, 21 September 2022

Almost one billion young people
aged 10-24 years living in low- andmiddle income countries
in Asia and the Pacific,
representing 23.7% of people inthe Asia Pacific and accounting for
60% of the world’s adolescents andyoung adults(UNFPA, June 2021)

1 in 3 children and young
people is out of school incountries affected by war or
climate-related disasters

Children and young people,
especially girls, in many partsof this region, are often
undervalued andunderestimated(Plan International)

Impact of COVID-19
In Asia and the Pacificregions, schools serving
62 million children havebeen completely closed
due to lock downs during
the pandemic(UNICEF, 2021)

Extreme weather events and impacts are expected to push 100 million
people including girls and youth back into poverty by 2030

“Children and Youth involvement in
Disaster Risk Reduction and#ClimateAction needs to beconsidered seriously as solution not
only for information”

“Children,Youth and theircaregivers should be engage atgrassroots level to develop achild & youth centered accessto disaster education andpreparedness”
Iremide, Youth Activists fromAustralia

AN OPPORTUNITY FOR STRENGTHENING SUSTAINABLE
DEVELOPMENT AND EMPOWERING THE NEXT GENERATION OF
LEADERS TO BE AWARE OF ENVIRONMENTAL RISKS
in line with the recognition of children and youth as agent of change inSendai Framework of Disaster Risk Reduction (SFDRR)

THEY HAVE CAPACITY, CREATIVE AND INNOVATIVE
When they are empowered and equipped with sufficient knowledge
and access to disaster and climate education, they will be able toprovide important inputs for DRR efforts and contribute to identifying
solutions to both protect themselves in disasters, and increase theadaptation capacity of their communities.

RISK
IDENTIFIERRISKCOMMUNICATORSINNOVATIVE
AGENT OFCHANGE

Girls and boys from Indonesia who learn to identify the climate related riskusing the Climate’s cards for children in East Nusa Tenggara
Also girls in Viet Nam and boys and girls in Thailand to identify thedisaster hazard and risk in their schools using the multi hazard assessment
tool as part of the implementation of Child Centered Disaster Risk Reduction
project with Plan International

In Timor Leste and Myanmar, Plan
International partnering with Youth organizationin the implementation of multi hazard project –strengthening the capacity of local Civil Society
Organization and promote meaningful
engagement of youth and integrate protection
issue

Nayon, a 17 year-old teenager with special needsfrom Bangladesh, a member of DRR committee
and increase his knowledge and skills in disaster risk
management and furthermore become a champion inraising awareness about the importance of engaging
ALL people in DRR process and in the decisionmaking process #NoOneLeftBehindIn Indonesia, youth in urban Jakarta initiate
an innovative floods early warning system

Provide inputs to Plan Indonesia in the development of aseries of climate crisis comic for a available in Bahasa
and English version“Kanaga and the 'Friends of the Earth's journey in saving
the environment” The youth are trying to battle theongoing climate crisis

In Thailand, Girlsare empowered tocreate ICT based
solution for DRR andCCA

In Bangladesh, Youth group
identifying new ways foraddressing the impacts of climatechange using pre-existing
community assets, improving boththeir own, and their communities.

• Plan International believe all children and youth
in particular girls should enjoy full and equal
access to their rights, and this should not behindered by the threat of climate change#NoOneLeftBehind.
• Upholding their rights and strengthening their
meaningful participation in DRR, COVID-19
prevention and recovery and climate decisions andaction must therefore be a priority• Plan International support girls, boys and youth
to understand disaster risks, climate change,
its impacts and how they can adapt. We
encourage them to take the lead on climate action
and adaptation in their countries to support
strengthen community resilience to disaster.

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For more information please contact:
Vanda.Lengkong@plan-international.org

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