ASEAN day for disaster management and celebration of children’s month

On the second Wednesday of October of every year, ASEAN Member States observe the ASEAN Day for Disaster Management (ADDM). The Day coincides with the United Nations’ International Day for Disaster Reduction (IDDR). The ASEAN has been organising this annual event since 2005. In 2005, ASEAN Member States observed ADDM rather independently by doing their own national activities. However, since 2006, the ASEAN Committee on Disaster Management (ACDM) has been organising activities and events pertinent to disaster management to observe ADDM and IDDR in partnership with the United Nations International Strategy for Disaster Reduction (UNISDR).

In relation to this, October is also declared as the National Children’s Month under Presidential Proclamation No. 267, s. 1993. The designation of a month to commemorate the Filipino children will emphasize the importance of the role of the child within the Filipino family and within Philippine society. This therefore adds significance to this activity since the theme for this year ’s IDDR and ADDM is “Making Children & Young People Partners in Disaster Risk Reduction” and the slogan is “Step up! For Disaster Risk Reduction”.

This theme will allow a focus of discussion and activities during the Day to promote the role of children and youth, not only as the most vulnerable group but more importantly as a potential resource to raise awareness and contribute to decision making on disaster risk management.