By: UNISDR – The Americas
PANAMA, Panama, 23 February, 2017 – The photo titled "Earthquake Drill" by Carlos Roberto Márquez Ramos was chosen as the winner of the Call for Disaster Risk Reduction Tools, Good Practices and Photos 2016 "Photo Contest", promoted By the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNISDR), through its Regional Office for the Americas.
This contest was part of the second Call for Proposals organized by UNISDR in Latin America and the Caribbean with the objective of increasing visibility and promoting the initiatives of partners of DIPECHO projects focused on the integral management of disaster risk, which were developed in the region starting in the early 1990s, thanks to the support of the European Commission's Department of Humanitarian Aid and Civil Protection (ECHO).
After evaluating almost a hundred photographs, a committee made up of representatives of ECHO and UNISDR, chose the photo of Márquez Ramos, originally from El Salvador, because of its connection with the priorities of the Sendai Framework, its message and composition, as well as its complexity and photographic quality. Thanks to ECHO funding, the winner has been invited to participate in the Fifth Regional Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction (RP17), organized by UNISDR and the Government of Canada where his achievement will be honoured.
The photograph by Carlos Roberto Márquez Ramos shows an earthquake drill conducted by the Salvadoran Red Cross with the support of the Finnish Red Cross at the Las Marías School Centre, located in the municipality of Chinameca in San Miguel, El Salvador. The activity captured in this photograph was part of the Capacity Building project in communities of Sierra Tecapa-Chinameca.
The winning photograph alongside 14 other selected photos will form a photographic exhibit portraying the highlights of the call during RP17 from 7 to 9 March in Montreal, Canada. The exhibition seeks to motivate the audience, through the power of the images, to join those who perform invaluable and arduous work to save lives on a daily basis, promoting awareness of measures to reduce mortality and improve conditions against risk, to build a more secure and resilient planet and more and better opportunities for all.
Regional Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction in the Americas (RP17)
The RP17 will be held in Montreal, Canada, from 7 to 9 March with the participation of around 1,000 delegates from 33 of the 35 countries in the region. Among the expected results of the meeting is the adoption of an Action Plan for the implementation in the Americas of the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015-2030 adopted by Member States of the United Nations.
The advances on the construction of resilience and disaster risk reduction at a local, national and regional level since the adoption of the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction will be revised during the RP17. Thus, the RP17 will consequently serve as the ideal occasion for governments and stakeholders working in this area to discuss innovative initiatives to continue the implementation of the Sendai Framework, in line with the Sustainable Development Objectives and the 2030 Development Agenda.
Related Links:
Call for Disaster Risk Reduction Tools, Good Practices and Photos for 2016
DIPECHO-LAC
Fifth Regional Platform for DRR in the Americas
