Basseterre, St. Kitts (May 5, 2004): The National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) and several partners in disaster mitigation are consulting together at the workshop “St. Kitts 2020: Building a Disaster Resilient Future.”
At the brief opening ceremony of the two-day workshop, British Consul to St. Kitts and Nevis His Excellency Peter Alcorn said that a disaster resilient society is something that can be achieved in the long term.
National Disaster Coordinator Mr. Carl Herbert of the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), noted that though the initiative for the workshop was not undertaken by the government it was important to acknowledge the advantages of partnering with other disaster mitigation agencies. He said it was an opportunity for them all to sit, discuss and deliberate and see the way forward. He highlighted this aspect against the backdrop of predictions that disasters will increase and intensify in the future.
Facilitator, Professor Jackie Burgess of the Department of Geography at the University College of London gave an overview of what would be undertaken over the next two days. She also explained that the workshop would utilize a new technique referred to as “future search.” She said this involves a process that encourages participants to first vision what a future would be like and identify what they want their specific future to entail. From there working backwards, they would then develop concrete ideas and proposals of how to attain that vision.
The third aspect that Professor Burgess dealt with was the ground rules on ways of conducting business that employs the most effective methods of sharing knowledge and experience.
