BIARI Philippines 2018 fellowship participants discuss a global issue during the second day of the week-long event.

With the theme “community resilience for natural disasters,” the Brown International Advanced Research Institutes (BIARI) event took place for the first time in the Philippines. Coming from ASEAN countries, program participants were early-career disaster risk reduction and management (DRRM) practitioners from all sectors — private sector, civil society, academe, and government — who have the potential to create positive impact in the area of community resilience. Central to community resilience is its grassroots perspective in disaster management, bringing community participation and collaboration to the fore. 

“Community resilience is about infrastructure. It’s making sure that a community can withstand disturbances to their built environment, to their natural environment, to their social environments and rebound more quickly,” stated Humanitarian Innovation Initiative (HI2) Program Manager Seth Stulen. 

Based at Brown University’s Watson Institute for International and Public Affairs, BIARI offers rigorous, innovative, interdisciplinary programs that provide a unique opportunity for rising scholars from diverse backgrounds to meet, connect, and identify areas of potential collaboration.

“PDRF is proud to be part of this historic conference hosted by world-renowned educational institutions. The link between academe, local governments, international groups, and the private sector brings together the theory and practice of disaster risk reduction in exciting ways that benefit us all,” said PDRF President Rene “Butch” Meily. 

The event was co-organized with the Humanitarian Innovation Initiative, Ayala Corporation, Globe Telecom, British Embassy Manila, Jose Rizal University, Curiosity, University of Santo Tomas, and University of Nueva Caceres. 

Since 2015, PDRF has been partnering with local and international organizations in capacity building initiatives. Recognized by the United Nations as a global model for establishing public-private partnerships in DRR, it is actively involved in helping build local business disaster management networks across the globe.