The specialists are sharing information and promoting the process of planning, monitoring and collective decision making, to enhance the iimplementation of that platform.
The multisectoral forum is a convergence of commitments and concerns of national and local governments, intergovernmental, international and non-governmental organizations and community groups, scientific institutions, the private sector, donors and the media.
The meeting is being organized by the UN Office for Disaster Risk Reduction, along with the Chilean Government.
A wide range of topics will be addressed through the panel discussions, including the recovery processes for natural disasters, based on the experiences of the earthquakes in Haiti and Chile, technical cooperation in disaster reduction and the experiences of South-South cooperation.
Public policies at regional, national and local level will also be reviewed, along with the effects of disasters on children. The first session of these meetings was held in Panama in March 2009, with the goal of helping to bridge the gap between national platforms and the Global Platform, to establish a mechanism for broad participation in the hemisphere.
In this regard the focus was the definition of responsibilities and priorities in order to advance a regional agenda in the years to follow. The second session took place in Nayarit, Mexico, in March 2011, a meeting which resulted in the need to prioritize risk reduction policies at the highest levels of decision-making in every country and the need to develop a hemispheric agenda to promote them. The main topics at the event were climate change adaptation, measurable increases in investments and cities, schools and hospitals most affected by disasters, among other issues. (PL)