Stronger Together: Building a Nationwide Disaster Prevention Network
In Japan, there is a growing momentum to promote cross-sector partnerships between government, private sector, and civil society organisations to respond to and prevent national disasters. Japanese Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster (JVOAD) gathers together actors from all parts of society to not only share information, but also respond more effectively to disasters. After the Great Hanshin Earthquake in 1995, a large number of volunteers mobilized to help communities in affected areas around Kobe. As a result, this year is often referred to as Japan’s “birth of volunteerism”. At the time, there was no framework in place to take in so many volunteers from across the country. Following on from the Chuetsu Earthquake, it was […]