At the opening of the 43rd ASEAN Summit on 5 September 2023, President Joko Widodo of Indonesia and the Secretary-General of ASEAN, Dr. Kao Kim Hourn, handed the prestigious ASEAN Prize trophy to two distinguished recipients: 2022 awardee Haji Muhammad Iqbal Fakhri bin Haji Damit, and this year’s winner, Nguyen Thi Tuyet Minh.
No other country in the Asia- Pacific region has more volcanoes than Indonesia. The country is home to at least 127 active volcanoes; thus, volcanic eruptions are a major threat to the archipelago.
Zain Nabil Haiqal’s love for wildlife and animals stems from childhood. The 25-year-old college student vividly remembers a visit to a West Java zoo where he encountered a forlorn-looking orangutan. The primate’s sorrowful expression moved him to tears and left a mark on his young life. This emotional connection ignited a passion for animal welfare that would shape his life.
It is neither fame nor her three million followers on social media that brings Sania Leonardo the greatest happiness. Instead, it is the warm embrace of her students at emergency schools and their excitement to see her whenever she arrives.
Like any ordinary person, 40-year-old Trang Jena Nguyen initially believed that first aid skills and knowledge were exclusively for doctors and medical professionals. However, it only took one workshop to change her mind.
Nestled along the Philippines’ typhoon-prone corridor, Naga City faces heightened vulnerability to torrential rains, landslides, and heavy flooding. Just this past April, the city felt the impact of Tropical Depression Amang. Though a relatively weak system, it inundated several of the city’s villages.
As extreme heatwaves and wildfires burn across the world, scientists predict that the worst of the weather is yet to come.
I had the honour to be invited to attend the first ASEAN Forum on Disaster Resilience, hosted by the Singapore Civil Defence Force in mid-August this year. As we emerge from the shadow of the pandemic, it felt wonderful to be able to connect with many friends that I have worked with over the years on disaster preparedness and response in our region and beyond. We’ve come a long way in the 20 years since the ASEAN Committee on Disaster Management (ACDM) was formed, in the 12 years since the ASEAN Coordinating Centre for Humanitarian Assistance on disaster management (AHA Centre) was born, and through several massive and difficult crises.
Amidst the intricate web of challenges posed by disasters, the beacon of disaster risk reduction emerges as a resolute symbol of preparedness and resilience. Within the dynamic breadth of Southeast Asia, a region deeply touched by the consequences of climate change, the Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) is firmly committed to strengthening disaster resilience in partnership with the ASEAN Committee on Disaster Management.