Call for nominations for the 2011 Sasakawa Award for Disaster Reduction
From promoting women’s empowerment in Indonesia, to teaching architects to build structures resilient against hurricanes and earthquakes, the Sasakawa Award for Disaster Reduction has helped fund innovative disaster reduction work by a range of professionals from geologists to engineers for the past 23 years.
Nominations are now open for the 2011 Sasakawa Award to be given to an individual or organization for outstanding and internationally recognized action that contributes to building the resilience of nations and communities to disasters.
“We hope the award will stimulate wider application of the Hyogo Framework and integrating disaster risk reduction into the work of many disciplines,” said Margareta Wahlström, Special Representative of the Secretary-General on Disaster Reduction, who heads the United Nations secretariat for the International Strategy for Disaster Reduction (UNISDR) which administers the award.
The $50,000 prize is typically shared among the Sasakawa Laureate and recipients of the Certificate of Distinction and Certificate of Merit, selected by an independent jury.
“This year for the first time, candidates are recommended to demonstrate how their achievements are linked to the Ten Essentials that we promote as part of the disaster risk reduction campaign, ‘Making Cities Resilient – My City is Getting Ready’,” said Helena Molin Valdés. “The award is a great way to gauge work already being done and to encourage more of it. We’re eager to see what comes in.”
The award was established in 1986 by the Nippon Foundation of Japan.