Lessons learned / Practical Example

The Cyclone Preparedness Programme is a joint initiative of the Government of Bangladesh and the Bangladesh Red Crescent Society, combining state early warning systems with last-mile, volunteer-led community action to ensure timely evacuation, preparedness, and lifesaving response in cyclone-prone coastal areas.

Bjørnis is a child-centred risk communication and psychosocial support initiative that uses a firefighter teddy bear to reduce fear, support emotional regulation, and improve children’s understanding of emergencies and safety behaviours.

The CiVà Project – Engaged Citizenship, Active Volunteering was developed with the aim of updating the Municipal Civil Protection Plan of the Municipality of Lucca, in accordance with the National and Regional law, through a participatory process involving citizens, institutions, associations, economic operators, and schools.

A nationwide, recurring fire-risk awareness and prevention campaign that uses experiential learning and direct interaction with firefighters to improve household preparedness and reduce fire-related injuries and damage.

RiskMap is an open, transparent, web-based platform that collects verified, real-time disaster reports from citizens via social media/chatbots and visualizes them on an interactive map.
Residents report hazards (e.g., flood location/depth, road closures, storm damage) and the map helps communities avoid danger and navigate to safety.
Emergency managers can use the same data stream (and, in some deployments, a dedicated dashboard) to support situational awareness and response planning.

The "SMURD Mobile Training Center / Caravan – Be prepared" project is a truck-based mobile classroom providing hands-on first aid and emergency preparedness training to various locations in Romania.
It includes lectures and demonstrations using equipment and simulators, led by IGSU/SMURD staff.
The goal is to increase citizens' ability to respond appropriately when "every second counts," reducing the risks associated with events such as fires, floods, or earthquakes.

The CiVà Project – Engaged Citizenship, Active Volunteering was developed with the aim of updating the Municipal Civil Protection Plan of the Municipality of Lucca, in accordance with the National and Regional law, through a participatory process involving citizens, institutions, associations, economic operators, and schools.

A nationwide, recurring fire-risk awareness and prevention campaign that uses experiential learning and direct interaction with firefighters to improve household preparedness and reduce fire-related injuries and damage.

The case illustrates how disability-inclusive DRR has been advanced in Vanuatu by shifting from ad-hoc inclusion to more systematic engagement of persons with disabilities and their representative organisations in preparedness, response planning, and community decision-making.

The CBDRR approach developed by Solidarités International is a participatory methodology that places affected communities at the centre of disaster risk analysis, planning, and action. It combines local knowledge with technical expertise to identify hazards, vulnerabilities, and capacities, and translates this shared analysis into concrete preparedness, mitigation, and response measures implemented at community level.