On 20th August 2019, National workshop on Urban Disaster and Risk Reduction: Policies and Practices was held in Lalitpur (Hotel Himalaya) with objective of sharing learnings from urban DRR projects and providing updates on formulation of policies and its practices. Community Based Disaster Risk Reduction Platform (CBDRM), led by Ministry of Federal Affairs and General Administration (MOFAGA) organized the event with support of Safer Cities Consortium. Policies related to urban development and resilience was presented by the representative of Ministry of Urban Development whereas practices and relevant learning were presented by Safer Cities Project, Nepal Red Cross Society (NRCS), NSET Nepal’s project and Pragati project. The opening and presentation session was chaired by Jaya Narayan Acharya, Joint Secretary of MOFAGA, whereas brief objective of the learning event was shared by Rishi Raj Acharya, Under Secretary, and MOFAGA. During the event, resource book on Disaster Risk Reduction (BIPAD PATRAKARITA HATEPUSTIKA) for media person was also released. This resource book was produced by the Safer Cities Project, which include messages on disaster preparedness and mitigation and safety measures before, during and after disaster.
Following the presentation session and book release, there was panel discussion on urban DRR related policies and practices. The panel discussion was facilitated by journalist Mr. Jagadish Kharel. Panelists were Mr. Jaya Narayan Acharya-Joint secretary (MoFAGA), Pradeep Kumar Shrestha- Ex president of FNCCI (Managing Director of Panchakanya Group) and Umesh Dhakal-Executive Director (Nepal Red Cross Society).