The first UCR-CoP periodic sharing event of 2017 entitled Update Efforts and Share Experiences on Building Urban Resilience in Viet Nam was successfully held on March 2 in Hanoi. More than 42 participants from international and Vietnamese organizations, government institutions, private sectors, and universities such as ISET, TAF, GIZ, ARC, BTC, UNDP, Oxfam, UDA, SECO, VIUP, IMHEN, etc. gathered at the workshop to update their efforts and share experiences on building urban resilience. Particularly, representatives from the 100 Resilient City (100RC) and Climate Change Coordination Office of Da Nang (CCCO Da Nang), and a key member of Can Tho city also attended and shared at the workshop. The workshop was organized by The Institute for Social and Environmental Transition (ISET) on behalf of the UCR-CoP secretariat, and partly supported by 100RC.
At the workshop, Mr. Amit Prothi, the 100RC representative in Vietnam provided participants with an overview of 100RC which was pioneered by the Rockefeller Foundation (100RC) to help cities around the world become more resilient to the physical, social and economic challenges. Participants were also walked through the 100RC’s City Resilience Framework (CRF) with four key dimensions including Leadership and Strategy, Health and Well-being, Economy and Society, Infrastructure and Environment, and 12 drivers, and sub-drivers that resolving around the four dimensions, determining the city’s ability to withstand a wide range of shocks and stresses. Mr. Dinh Quang Cuong, Chief Resilience Officer (CRO) of Da Nang city—one of the first CRO appointed during the first round, shared with participants the Da Nang Resilience Strategy which was released in 2016. City Resilience Strategy, one of four types of support that member cities get from 100RC program to address its problems, will serve as a roadmap for the city to initiate implementation activities in their efforts to build and become resilience. Da Nang’s experience sharing would be a useful lesson learnt for Can Tho city, the second Vietnamese city selected to 100RC in mid 2016, which is in the process of selecting a CRO and initiating the preparation of the Resilience Strategy.
Above: Resilience Assessment exercise
Discussion after the Resilience assessment exercise
The workshop participants also had an opportunity to involve in an interesting group exercise where they applied the CRF to understand and make an overall evaluation of the resilience of cities in Vietnam. Participants were also asked to match the specific technical areas that they or their institutions are working on with the specific areas (drivers/sub-drivers) of the four dimensions in the CRF circle. This activity serves to foster understanding of donor or development agency engagement in urban resilience for post event follow-up.
Above: Stakeholder Mapping exercise
Active and constructive participation of all UCR-CoP participant members has always been a major factor contributing to the success of this UCR-CoP sharing event and the many to come.
ISET -Vietnam, a member of UCR-CoP facilitators
Originally posted on UCR-CoP website.