Here’s to a more resilient Philippines–just recently, the National Resilience Council (NRC) and Ateneo de Manila University (ADMU) worked together to conduct the Certificate Course on Deepening Systems Thinking (DST) for a Resilient Local Government System. Targeting participants from local government units and offices, the course ran from June 4, 8-11 and 23, 2021 via Zoom. This course is most integral to the capacity building interventions in the Year 2, Adapt Phase of the Resilient Local Government Unit Program of the National Resilience Council.
Through the effort of developing and implementing this certificate course and with the support of distinguished speakers, LGUs are now closer to achieving a more proactive, risk-informed and resilience driven approach in decision making and policy and strategy formulation at the local level. The 4-day course was graced by notable resiliency experts across both public and pricate sectors such as Mr. Sanjaya Bhatia (UNDRR), Dr. Carlos Primo David (UP and Climate Change Commission), Mr. Albert Magalang (DENR), Atty. Anjanette Saguisag (UNICEF), Ms. Grace Magno (SM Supermalls), Fr. Jose Ramon Villarin, S.J. (AdMU), Mr. Austere Panadero (Zuellig), and Ms. Ana Thourlund (UNDRR), among many others. Local Chief Executives of participating LGUs were present as well, showing their thorough commitment to realizing resilient communities across their cities.
On the last day of the course, each of the seven (7) participating LGUs were given the opportunity to present outlined illustrations of their Programs, Plans and Activities (PPAs) in preparation for their local Annual Investment Program (AIP). The presentations bore out of the different learnings from the sessions, utilizing the systems lens that aims to help participants understand the nature and implications of the critical issues they have identified earlier in the program.
Combining a multi-disciplinary approach with the specializations of program and course directors that are known experts in the field of resilience leadership and governance, participants are now armed and ready with the awareness and knowledge on tools for evidence-based risk reduction, adaptive and transformative planning and development, and multi-stakeholder engagement, eventually hoping to encourage participants to take part in the bigger picture– UNDRR’s Making Cities More Resilient campaign.
To learn more about NRC’s resiliency programs, visit: https://resiliencecouncil.ph/#BounceForwardTogether
