We are happy to announce our latest initiative, ‘Resilience Café – Conversations with SEEDS’. We aim to shape our worldview and that of others to arrive at actionable humanitarian interventions to save lives and prevent losses from disasters, now and in the future, through these conversations. Through this platform, we will be talking about marginalised communities, micro and small business enterprises, and migrants but not limit ourselves to just them. We shall engage with affected and at-risk communities, civil society partners, donors, children, and government officials.
Edition 3 : Navigating the Sustainable Energy-Disaster Resilience Nexus
The level of loss during a disaster depends upon the coping capacity of the affected community. Ones with low capacities are often affected by disasters in cycles, getting hit by the next one before they have recovered from one. India loses over one million houses to disasters each year, along with other public infrastructure, assets, and livelihoods that form part of the ecosystem. While the inter-linkages between sustainable energy and disaster resilience cannot be overstated, it is often lacking in practice. SEEDS and SELCO Foundation came together to demonstrate the use of sustainable energy as an enabler for faster recovery and building resilience, among affected communities in Puri district of Odisha post-Cyclone Fani.
Basis this experience, this conversation will aim to arrive at actionable suggestions on how to build a robust sustainable energy-disaster resilience nexus in practice. It will also draw from the speakers’ expertise and experience around the world to arrive at possible strategies to create an enabling environment for it.
Edition 2 : Local Leadership for Disaster Resilience
The Sendai framework puts a great emphasis on the need for action at local levels to achieve its set of targets by 2030. It calls for a coordination mechanism within and across sectors and with relevant stakeholders at all levels while recognising that risks have local and specific characteristics. An empowered local leadership is best positioned to ensure the frameworks’ effective implementation on the ground. Local leaders can integrate the societal understanding of risks, which are critical for effective disaster risk management at the grassroot and local levels.
In that light, SEEDS Co-founder Manu Gupta had a detailed conversation with Krishna Vatsa, Member, National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), India; Animesh Kumar, Officer-in-Charge and Deputy Chief, UNDRR Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific and Deicy Silvia Wenas, Founder, The Unspoken Ministry, Indonesia; aiming to arrive at measures to enable local leaders to be the drivers for lasting change in their communities. The conversation also drew lessons from the experience of the pandemic for other local leaders to learn from.
Edition 1 : Collaborations for Humanitarian Action beyond Funding
In the recent years, humanitarian partnerships involving private sector companies are on the rise. While the primary role of these companies as funders is well known and acknowledged, there is much more to these collaborations for effective humanitarian action on the ground. During this conversation, we looked at our own experience of working with one of our partners as well as examples of such collaborations from around the world in diverse disaster contexts and geographies to draw values, principles, and lessons which nurture these effective partnerships. SEEDS Co-Founder Manu Gupta takes on a detailed conversation with Jaivir Singh- Vice Chairman, PwC India Foundation and Leader, PwC Global Office for Humanitarian Affairs and Juhi Gupta- Head of Sustainability, PepsiCo India, talking about marginalized communities and engaging with affected and at-risk communities, civil society partners, donors, children, and government officials. We hope this conversation inspire others, both from civil society and the private sector, to forge more such collaborations for humanitarian action.