 Good morning everyone. We'd like to welcome you to the launch of our earth science activities for 2018 Often in Senucia we boast that we are the country with the world's only drive in volcano And if you ask most persons they will tell you that the volcano is based in Souffre But apart from that there's very little else that we know about our island and in recent times We've we've been having More frequent earthquakes and you find that person's a little more way of geo hazards, but very little emphasis is placed on hazards apart from from hydro metasads and It is against that. It is against this backdrop that the National Emergency Management Organization NIMO and UES seismic research center has Decided with the rest of the world to observe earth science week and our theme for earth science week this year is Earth as inspiration we have a number of activities planned for this week and Mrs. Veldor Joseph the director of the National Emergency Management Organization will come to give a few brief remarks and Give us an overview of the activities for the week. Thank you This is Joseph Thank you very much miss Chalory. Good morning everyone Welcome to this media launch of earth science week 2018 a very special good morning to our friends and colleagues from the University of the West Indies seismic research Center For being here with us today and for agreeing to share your expert knowledge on the subject matter our media friends Thank you for being here and for consistently providing NIMO with the opportunity to share information and to engage the public on Various issues relevant to disaster management. Thank you to all of you colleagues It is common knowledge that the Caribbean region is identified as one which is highly vulnerable to multiple hazards Each with the potential for causing extreme devastation to our island nations Our recent and not so recent experiences Have painfully highlighted the vulnerability of our infrastructure and our people and the inevitable disruption of livelihoods and economies as a result of hazard impacts However, as is done at every opportunity I will emphasize the fact that St. Lucia's exposure to hazards is not limited to Hygiumet events and you just heard that from our moderator Despite the frequency of those events But that the island is vulnerable to a myriad of other hazards with natural and man-made Which have the potential for causing loss of lives severe destruction of physical socio-economical and Environmental assets as well as significant disruptions the livelihoods as I mentioned earlier The region's exposure to multiple hazards It's clearly recognized and acknowledged within the Caribbean brand of managing disaster risk Which was conceptualized by Cedema the Caribbean disaster emergency management agency and to which St. Lucia subscribes This brand which is referred to as the comprehensive disaster management or CDM as we say Challenges us to give consideration to all hazards not some all hazards It challenges us to consider all phases of the disaster management cycle to move away from the thinking that it's response that matters But that we need to consider risk reduction and we need to consider all of the other phases before the impact as well And it also calls on us to empower all sectors towards building a culture of safety In taking up this challenge Nemo will over the course of this week and beyond Maintain adequate focus on the geological hazards of particular interest to St. Lucia and for this we're focusing on earthquakes tsunamis and volcanoes and will Constantly seek to share information towards improved resilience of the nation I remember a few years ago at a NIMAC meeting and we were challenged by the then prime minister to Place more emphasis on earthquakes. I think at the time it was around 2016 That's when we had the boost of earthquakes in July of that year and he said I want more emphasis on earthquakes And we have tried but I suppose within the limits of our resources We have not been as successful as we would like to be but we want to take up that challenge again and to place Emphasis on hazards other than they met hazards We recognize that even when we are battling waves and troughs that we can have those quicks as was experienced not too long ago So we need to make sure that our nation is ready The observance of earth science week in St. Lucia is therefore designed to foster a greater awareness and understanding of the geological hazards and also to provide some encouragement and Motivation for adoption of preparedness measures by the public to preserve life and property We do not want to help us and saying that you cannot prepare for an earthquake There's nothing we can do because it cannot be predicted. There are things that can be done and throughout this week We will be sharing with the public Various target audiences. What are some of the things that you can do at household level? What are some of the things that can be done at community level and at the national level? What are some of the things that we are going to be engaging in? In keeping with this year's theme of earth as inspiration the National Emergency Management Organization in partnership with UESRC Will host a range of engaging activities to commemorate earth science week? 2018 these activities will take place in various parts of the island We are not leaving anybody behind. Nothing is concentrated in castries. We are going all around the island and we will target particular groups at varying times So what do we have for this week? Let us take a look and I'm going to go through the program to just give you a brief synopsis of what is planned for this week So today we have this media launch and we will also be telling you about a jingle We have we first a representative from the ministry of agriculture of edu Good morning, everyone. We'd like to welcome you to the launch of our earth science activities for 2018 Often in Senucia we boast that we are the country with the world's only drive in volcano And if you ask most persons they will tell you that the volcano is based in Souffre But apart from that there's very little else that we know about our island and in recent times We've we've been having more frequent earthquakes and you find that persons are a little more way of geo hazards but very little emphasis is placed on hazards apart from from hydro metasads and it is against that it is against this backdrop that the National Emergency Management Organization NIMO and U.E. seismic research center has Decided with the rest of the world to observe of science week and our theme for of science week this year is Earth as inspiration we have a number of activities planned for this week and Mrs. Veldor Joseph the director of the National Emergency Management Organization will come to give a few brief remarks and Give us an overview of the activities for the week. Thank you So Tuesday November 13th. We are looking at region three for school presentation And that will take place at the N triple H. R. D. C We also have a session with the Methodist school at in castries at 11 a.m. Tomorrow now the Methodist school is the one school. Well, there's the exception But that was because we had another session that we had to replace So we included a Methodist school in that in that session Tomorrow afternoon region four will be the focus That will be held at the John odd lump secondary school and again We are engaging the schools the secondary schools in that region for the presentation And then we go to the communities We are not leaving our community persons behind if you know my background You know that I'm very strong on communities and community engagement so we have one community meeting in Miku and we really want to encourage all Persons from the Miku district Miku north Miku south It's also my district. So I would love to have a full town hall a full house at the at the Miku sec At the Miku primary school to engage the team in discussions on the subject On Wednesday, we have region five. We remain in the south. So we have region five the school presentation It's taking place in Miku as well. We are looking at the Okay, I'm sorry. We have changed the venue for that. So that is taking place in denry We are at Chateau heritage with that presentation for region five And then a small group will be on straight up So you can encourage your friends to tune into straight up on Wednesday morning to have a discussion with Claudius Francis on those The threat of the geological hazards to St. Lucia that is a calling for the sake of our partners from SRC That's a calling program. So it allows us to also engage the public in discussions In the afternoon, we have region six and that's taking place in view fort at the nsdc building And later on we have a presentation With liaison officers of the Nemo system So Nemo as an organization has liaison officers in all of the agencies government ministries private sector entities And we want to make sure that these people when they speak and they speak about those hazards That they have the correct information because they are really representing the national disaster management system in St. Lucia So there's a special session for all of them. I have to say that this session is heavily subscribed We have gotten many confirmations for that session. So we look forward to that session being a very enjoyable very engaging very informative session On Thursday morning regions seven and eight we have combined regions seven and eight For a discussion We will inform of the venue for that presentation And we do also have a lecture public lecture in the south of the island at 11 That's taking place at the ports police barrack at the uona international airport That's for our persons in the south of the island. It's an open forum We have invited a number of stakeholders to join us in that session. So we do also envisage an enjoyable session in viewfort After lunch on Thursday the 15th We have a technical presentation to a level students of the view for comprehensive Secondary school my alma mater, but that's not why it was selected There was a special request from that school to have a presentation Once they knew about of science week. So we will be facilitating that at 130 to three on Thursday afternoon And then we move to schwezel for the second community meeting to discuss the issues at hand on friday morning, we encourage all entities to participate in an earthquake drill And encourage your your staff encourage individuals to practice the earthquake drill Let us try to practice the job cover hold and evacuate Let us see how well you have evacuated out of your building too often people know We've seen many cases people know what it is But everybody would just panic and we believe that if you practice enough, but it happens You will automatically go into that routine and you will do what you have practiced So we want to ensure that we begin to have more Drills so that persons are better familiar with what it is that they are required to do We will also be hosting some public education both at massive stores both in the north and in the south castries and viewport And we will be using our volunteers to man those boats to just share information with the public On the hazards that we are discussing And our final activity is a mini exhibition That we dub inspired by oath based on the Um The theme for the oath science week that we will be having at the castries city hall I have to say that we are very encouraged by the number of persons who have indicated that they would like to share And they would be willing to display their information. It is not going to be a paper type Exhibition so don't expect to see a lot of People being distributed. We want it to be practical so that persons are involved in doing things that they will remember post the the exhibition And then I think by now by the end of the week the team will be very tired and ready to go back to Trinidad So we will just have an out briefing meeting with Our authorities and then we can say goodbye to our colleagues and our friends So that is the week that is the program that we have for the week And just before I take my seat. I have to say thank you to a number of persons In particular, I'd like to highlight the The small coordinating team who helped with the planning and the logistics for all of this avalon charlie Who is with us? She's been with us persons are wondering whether she's now with nimo and not with met office But she's been with us organizing this whole thing and I really want to say thank you to you avalon bonus codra Who functions in the capacity of school safety? Officer codra has been working very closely with the National emergency management organization and he came on board to actually help us plan And make sure that all schools were involved in receiving presentations We have miss epiphan christie christie has been quite busy Sending out letters calling people to confirm making sure that the place is decorated christie You know has this little extra touch. It has to be decorated. Thank you so much christie We have maria madea maria is not here with us today Maria is in japan on training But uh, I know she's the first in spirit She kept on messaging and calling on what's up to find out whether everything is okay for the week So we're very happy That she she is still in tune with us We have others daniel joe everybody came on board to make sure that We the activities for the week the logistics in terms of moving items moving chairs making sure venues are ready I want to thank you so very much And to all of the rest of you at nimo our team from the src. Thank you so much again We really do appreciate your efforts In terms of making sure that everything Runs smoothly and for bearing if us even where we were late with our submissions So thank you very much for making sure that it all came together Quite nicely. I look forward to a really awesome work with your guys in st Losia and ensuring that all of the activities that we have planned Come off successfully. So thank you so much everyone Please join the rest of the sessions that we have outlined and have a great day thanks Thank you to mrs. Joseph for her brief comments and Highlighted the schedule for the week You see that the great emphasis that we've placed on schools The ministry of education has been a great partner in planning for science week And we have mr. Bunez kojo the ministry of education school safety officer here with us and he will give us Max Good morning everybody On behalf of the ministry of education. I want to say a big thank you for the opportunity where we can Play our part in terms of building resilience as it relates to earth and taking care of our earth My role today is that of looking at resilience among our young people And resilience refers to an individual's capacity to successfully adapt to change and stressful events in healthy and constructive ways That was written by catalino et al in 2002 young people regularly face great hurdles to get their voices heard While research and practice in the disaster and climate change community Commonly represent young people as passive victims requiring protection consequently Their capacities to inform decision-making processes communicate risks to their communities and Take direct action to reduce risks have been neglected Tackling causes and impacts of climate change has emerged as a major global challenge of the 21st century Given the potential for climate change to alter distribution and severity of extreme weather events Adaption adaptation to climate change can draw from many policies and practices in dr Dr represents a change in emphasis from human humanitarian response and rehabilitation Following disaster events towards disaster prevention and reduction of potential risks This entails affording greater attention to social economic and political factors that influence social vulnerability Rather than just the nature of the hazard and local environmental conditions Vulnerability to climate change and disasters has often been conceptualized as passive and victimhood Particularly emerging from post disaster studies that identify particularly vulnerable groups This conceptualization is common in literature linking children with climate change and disasters However a growing body of empirical research and practice is emerging that counters this vulnerability narrative instead emphasizing young people's capacities to influence and participate directly in efforts to learn about prevent prepare for cope with and adapt to climate change and extreme events young people's participation in dr and adaptation may therefore be conceptualized in multiple modes including contextualizing knowledge using analytical tools and prioritizing actions advocacy and mobilization building coalitions with parents community members and other stakeholders Conception design and implementation of projects that tackle climate and disaster risk pertinent to children's lives In St. Lucia we are exposed to natural hazards and climate related shocks and the impact of our society has been aggravated by many unplanned developments Climate change is projected to lead to more severe events such as droughts floods hurricanes and the Caribbean region in particular has recently experienced an increase number of extreme weather events In many Caribbean islands there are indications that extensive risks corresponding to high hazard events such as yearly floods and storms is increasingly affecting the infrastructure in both rural and urban areas keeping it highly vulnerable Of late we are seeing a higher frequency of earthquakes and the possibility of tsunami as a result The Sendai framework of 2015 to 2030 uses a wide-scale people-centered approach to disaster risk reduction that applies to both large and small scale disasters caused by natural or man-made hazards as well as related environmental technological and biological disasters With seven targets and four priorities for action it aims to limit the adverse impacts of hazards within the broader context of sustainable development The implementation of the framework requires strong political leadership youth engagement and commitment St. Lucia has a large share of its population being youth with young people between the ages of 15 to 29 making up around 26 percent of the population With new youth-led and youth-oriented programs flourishing and more young people utilizing information and communication technologies St. Lucia's youth are now better able to voice opinions address existing problems and shape community priorities as well as actively partake in the process of building resilience The Sendai framework for disaster risk reduction recognizes the role played by the different stakeholders especially the youth in making the disaster risk reduction process a successful one and by extension building resilience Children and youth are agents of change and should be given the space and modalities to contribute to disaster risk reduction in accordance with legislation national practice and educational curricula The school safety program of the ministry of education places emphasis on youth involvement through one youth advocacy in building community resilience two role of social media and new technologies in disaster risk reduction three children and youth education in building resilience for importance of engaging youth in drr planning processes and five role of youth volunteers in drr building resilience in young people is an important goal if we are to strengthen capacity and promote skills that help to reduce mental health problems one way to foster resilience in young people is through meaningful youth participation that is decision making by young people that involves meaning control and connectedness whilst youth participation may occur in recognition of young people's rights to be involved in all decisions that affect them meaningful participation can itself enhance a young person's sense of connectedness belonging and valued participation and thereby impact on mental health and well-being the ministry of education remains committed in involving the youth and all other stakeholders as we work together to build a more resilient nation and people and so in so doing we have partnered with the national emergency management organization in launching our jingle competition as we as we focus on volcanoes for this jingle and we have brought on board our music curriculum officer along with other music teachers and as we launch this activity we are hoping that in March of 2019 the competition will actually take place then and so it is our pleasure again to have partnered with Nemo in this venture. I thank you without our partners from the ue seismic research center this week of activities would not have been possible and so we have Dr Patricia Joseph a volcanologist with the ue seismic center who will give a few brief remarks thank you very much thank you for your kind comments mr Joseph good morning everyone the uwi seismic research center celebrates earth science week annually in one of the countries that we monitor this year we are pleased to in collaboration with Nemo to celebrate earth science week in st lusher this education and outreach campaign allows us to visit schools and various stakeholders on on island and provide information on new research and on geological hazards that can impact st lusher we hope that the messages the key messages that we present all of this week on earthquake safety and knowing more about your volcano can help raise awareness among the public and that we can encourage bright young minds in st lusher to pursue a career in earth sciences this year's theme as mr Joseph mentioned is earth as inspiration and we believe that st lusher is an ideal island in which to celebrate the steam we look forward to this week's event and hope that we encourage the public to come out as we can all be better prepared and informed for any geological event thank you very much we have a few minutes now if anyone needs any clarification on the activities planned for this week we'll open the floor now to any questions okay thank you i guess mrs joseph was very clear on what's happening this week we'd like to thank the media houses that came out this morning for our media launch we're very thankful to our specially invited guests who came to celebrate our opening of earth science week and we're especially grateful to our partners from ue seismic research center who came all the way from trinidad to observe earth science week with us thank you very much to the staff of nimo i know it has been two weeks of um yes and especially creasy i know we've put a lot a lot of pressure on you and we're very grateful for your assistance we look forward to the participation of everyone here um in the activities for this week we hope that we see you at the community meetings and we hope that we have coverage from the media especially at our school functions and our fair on friday we have a number of partners we have a number of exciting things that we're expecting on friday promotions from different companies and so on so we hope that we have um assistance from the media in promoting our fair on friday