Collective and historical memory of past disaster situations important to citizen risk perception and preparedness

the collective and historical memory of past disaster situations was outlined by practitioners as important to citizens’ risk perception and disaster preparedness. Here, practitioners outlined the success of community workshops, where the participants built, besides being given informative material of specific disaster risks, or re-build the history of their city, village or region through the use of historical artefacts and pictures. Such collective exercises to recover the “lost” memory of disasters aim to encourage citizens to take up responsibility and action through a shared cultural identify.

Cultural Factors: Individual/collective memory, Communication

Hazards: Natural hazards, Man-made non-intentional hazards or emergency situations

Disaster Phases: Preparedness, Response

Types of Actors Concerned: National civil protection body, Local authorities, Government, Healthcare and emergency services

Recommendations:

• Develop culturally aware disaster preparedness and response training
• Training programmes for citizens of all ages should be developed. These are necessary to increase citizens’ knowledge of and preparedness in case of disasters. The training activities should be organized on the basis of a training strategy and should take various forms, ranging from emergency drill to workshops