Since 1985, the UWDMC has provided educational design, development and technical assistance services for a variety of training programs throughout the world. Most programs are done in collaboration with InterWorks, our partner in Madison, Wisconsin, USA. Highlights follow.
Countries Served
UWDMC has organized training activities in these countries:
Austria, Bangladesh, Bolivia, Botswana, Brasil, Burkina Faso, Cambodia, Canada, Chile, China, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Denmark, Djibouti, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Egypt, El Salvador, Ethiopia, Fiji, Finland, France, Georgia, Germany, Ghana, Guatemala, Guinea, Honduras, Hungary, Indonesia, Iran, India, Italy, Ivory Coast, Jamaica, Japan, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Lebanon, Lesotho, Liberia, Malawi, Malaysia, Mexico, Mongolia, Mozambique, Myanmar, Namibia, Nepal, Pakistan, Panama, Paraguay, Perú, Philippines, Rwanda, Russia, Senegal, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Swaziland, Switzerland, Sweden, Syria, Tajikistan, Tanzania, Thailand, Turkey, Uganda, United Kingdom, United States, Venezuela, Vietnam, Yemen, Zaire, Zambia, Zimbabwe
Working with the UN and Inter-Governmental Organizations
Emergency Management Training Program
Approximately 3,400 individuals from 125 countries participated in this special training program developed at the request of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).
Disaster Management Training Program
Close to 3,600 persons from 55 countries have attended more than 50 disaster management training events as part of a global training initiative sponsored jointly by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the United Nations Department of Humanitarian Affairs.
Train the Trainers
For UNHCR, UWDMC worked with InterWorks to prepare and present a concentrated three-day workshop to train United Nations staff to become effective trainers.
Latin American Scholarship Fund
UWDMC has worked with the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) to administer a scholarship fund for individuals from Latin America and the Caribbean to enroll in self-study courses and the Diploma Program.
Applied Research Grants Program
UWDMC collaborated with The World Bank (Hazard Management Unit), International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) , and the Provention Consortium to manage a global Applied Research Grants program for young professionals in the fields of hazard risk reduction and disaster management.
Working with National Governments
Through the services of a GIS science advisor and a geographer located in Washington DC, the UWDMC provided technical assistance for the disaster prevention, mitigation, and preparedness program of Office of US Foreign Disaster Assistance (OFDA) on Latin America.
UWDMC designed and facilitated a high-level workshop aimed at disaster preparedness and response policies in Mongolia. Sponsored by UNDP-Mongolia, participants included local UN agencies, ministers from concerned Mongolian government bodies, and staff from Mongolian Civil Defense.
Working with Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs)
UWDMC served as an advisor to the Harvard University International Relief and Development Project (IRDP) in the preparation and dissemination of case histories detailing international relief projects that had successfully integrated longer-term development strategies into short-term relief work.
UWDMC has also provided educational assistance to training programs in South Africa for the Technikon and Cranfield Disaster Management Center, in Rwanda for the Lutheran World Federation, and in Bangaldesh for CARE.
In 1997, UWDMC began collaboration with Church World Service in the development of a curriculum of materials for training local staff in disaster preparedness and response. This effort led to customized workshops in Pakistan, Rwanda, Madagascar, Jordan, Poland, Honduras, Indonesia, and Macedonia.
At the invitation of the Jordan Red Crescent Society, UWDMC designed and presented a comprehensive emergency managers’ workshop in Jordan in September 1998. Red Crescent and Red Cross Society participants from seven countries attended the ten-day workshop.
Working on Emergency Settlement
The Emergency Settlement Project was a special international effort to bring together the people and organizations (intergovernmental, national government and non-governmental) working in humanitarian assistance with communities disrupted by human-made, technological or natural disasters and emergencies. The goal of this project was to serve as a catalyst for gathering and documenting experiences into a consensus of principles, standards, and best practices for emergency settlement. With initial financial support from the Ford Foundation and the United Nations Development Programme, 75 humanitarian assistance professionals prepared discussion papers, which were published as, New Approaches to New Realities. This document served as the preliminary proceedings of the First International Emergency Settlement Conference, held in Madison, Wisconsin from 15-20 April 1996, with more than 170 participants from 49 countries.