Children and Young People’s Participation in Disaster Risk Reduction : Agency and Resilience

Available Open Access under CC-BY-NC licence. Disasters are an increasingly common and complex combination of environmental, social and cultural factors. Yet existing response frameworks and emergency plans tend to homogenise affected populations as ‘victims’, overlooking the distinctive experience, capacities and skills of children and young people. Drawing on participatory research with more than 550 children internationally, this book argues for a radical transformation in children’s roles and voices in disasters. It shows practitioners, policy-makers and researchers how more child-centred disaster management, that recognises children’s capacity to enhance disaster resilience, actually benefits at-risk communities as a whole.Available Open Access under CC-BY-NC licence. Disasters are an increasingly common and complex combination of environmental, social and cultural factors. Yet existing response frameworks and emergency plans tend to homogenise affected populations as ‘victims’, overlooking the distinctive experience, capacities and skills of children and young people. Drawing on participatory research with more than 550 children internationally, this book argues for a radical transformation in children’s roles and voices in disasters. It shows practitioners, policy-makers and researchers how more child-centred disaster management, that recognises children’s capacity to enhance disaster resilience, actually benefits at-risk communities as a whole Front cover Title Page Copyright Page Table of Contents List of figures and tables Notes on contributors Acknowledgements Preface Introducing CUIDAR: A child-centred approach to disasters 1. Children, participation and disasters in Europe: A poor record 2. Dialogues with Children, Mutual Learning Exercises and National Policy Debates 3. Rights, information, needs and active involvement in disaster risk management 4. Building a framework for child-centred disaster risk management in Europe 5. Participatory tools for disaster risk management with children and young people Concluding remarks: Reimagining children’s place in disaster risk management References Index Back cover "Available Open Access under CC-BY-NC licence. Disasters are complex environmental, social and cultural events and processes yet disaster management approaches tend to simplify responses and homogenise affected populations. Participatory research with more than 550 children across Europe, detailed in this book argues for a radical transformation in children's roles in disasters. It shows how more child-centred working in civil protection and emergency planning, that recognises children's capacities in building resilience, benefits at-risk communities as a whole. " Available Open Access under CC-BY-NC licence. Drawing on participatory international research, this book argues for a radical transformation in children’s roles in responding, planning and adapting to disasters. It demonstrates how child-centred ways of working will benefit all those involved.