World Bank eLearning Free Training: Safe and Resilient Cities. April 23 - May 21, 2014

http://einstitute.worldbank.org/ei/course/safe-and-resilient-cities-0

Safe and Resilient Cities

Dates: April 23, 2014 - May 21, 2014

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Application Ends On : April 16, 2014

Dates: November 04, 2014 - December 02, 2014

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Application Ends On : November 25, 2014

Dates: April 14, 2015 - May 12, 2015

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Application Ends On : May 05, 201
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This e-learning course focuses on disaster risk management (DRM) at the city level. Participants will learn, in particular, about planning and decision making under uncertainty and how to make their cities more resilient to climate change impacts and natural disasters. The course provides cutting edge tools on vulnerability assessment, institutional assessment and gap analysis, and on how to access finance for risk management.

This course is divided into 4 modules:

• Module 1: Introduction
• Module 2: Technical Analysis and Vulnerability Assessment
• Module 3: Accessing Finance for Urban DRM and Resilience
• Module 4: Building and Implementing the Local Resilience Action Plan (LRAP)

The course includes case studies from cities from around the world, presentations, videos and a selection of useful readings for further in-depth knowledge. In addition, Discussion forums will be organized and facilitated around each module, fostering participation and knowledge sharing among peers. Assignments will have to be completed according to the proposed schedule in order to successfully conclude and receive a certificate.

Upon completion of the course, each city participant should be able to form a team in charge of urban resilience planning, develop a LRAP, including operational measures (regarding city governance, infrastructure of environmental services, health, access to financial services, education, etc.), and define an implementation strategy.

Please consider the following in terms of time commitment:

• Module 1: 12 hours
• Module 2: 12 hours
• Module 3: 8 hours
• Module 4: 8 hours

Target Audience:
City officials in developing countries

Course Theme:	Innovative Solutions for Cities
Sub-Theme:	Public Safety and Resiliency
Course Format:	Facilitated
Language:	English
Amount:	US $ 0 (Course is free of charge)
Contact Name:	Rasha Rayes
Contact Us

Ages 18-24 year old Opportunities: FEMA Corps. The application deadline for the Summer 2014 class is April 1st.

FEMA Federal Emergency Management Agency

Are you between the ages of 18-24 and looking for a way to serve? Then don't miss this awesome opportunity to become a member of FEMA Corps. The application deadline for the Summer 2014 class is April 1st. Visit www.nationalservice.gov/programs/americorps/fema-corps for more information.

Africa is the World's Most Food Insecure Continent

Comment: Economic growth should go hand-in-hand with water, food, and agricultural growth.  BEMA

http://www.voanews.com/content/africa-fao-24mar14/1878127.html

FAO Opens Africa Conference

FAO Assistant Director-General Bukar Tijani says more youth are needed in agriculture. Credit: FAO

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Joe DeCapua

Last updated on: March 24, 2014 2:05 PM

The Food and Agriculture Organization says Africa is the world’s most food insecure continent. The U.N. agency is holding its 28th Regional Conference on Africa this week in Tunis.

• Listen to De Capua report on regional Africa conference in Tunis

The FAO gave the bleak description of Africa despite some strong economic growth in recent years – an average 4.8 percent increase in Gross Domestic Product, or GDP, between 2000 and 2010. It says the problem stems from low agricultural productivity, low incomes in rural areas and high rates of malnutrition.

There have been improvements, though. The FAO cites greater production of staple crops, the growing of better varieties of bananas in eastern and central Africa and the planting of higher yielding maize. There’s also greater production of cotton, teas and flowers. But the agency says it’s not enough to ensure food security for a growing population amid climate change.

FAO Assistant Director-General Bukar Tijani said the conference is focusing on greater investment in smallholder farmers. Women play the major role in such farms, but Tijani says there will now be an emphasis on attracting youth.

“The theme of the conference itself is really to support youth in different endeavors of agriculture. But then we have to be very precise. We have to also be pulling youth into agriculture because agriculture is seen as a traditional, historical culture and not as farming or as enterprise or as business.”

The FAO said agricultural production in African countries, on average, “has increased slightly less than one-percent per year, compared with about two-percent in other developing countries.”

Tijani said that Africa’s youth must see that agriculture is big business, not just a tradition. Entrepreneurship, he says, can be applied to agricultural products.

“That is crops, livestock, [fisheries], forest products and the value chain activities related to it, including technologies, communication, ICT – everything that could attract youth into it because it’s big monies,” he said.

Representatives of more than 50 countries are expected to attend the FAO regional meeting in Tunis. They’re being asked to build on the continent’s economic growth to provide “stable agriculture and fiscal policies that encourage investment.”

‘The future of Africa or any generation lies in the youth. And that is why I’m calling on youth to come into agribusiness so that you can have employment generation, wealth creation, incomes within agriculture across Africa,” said Tijani.

The meeting also addresses policies to end hunger on the continent by 2025. The FAO said, “Over the past decades, absolute levels of hunger and undernourishment remain worrying in sub-Saharan Africa.” It added the Sahel and the Horn of Africa are of “particular concern.”

The regional meeting in Tunis runs until March 28.

COMCAST Program for Low Income Familiies for Access

Comcast Extends Program for Low – Income Families:  Comcast recently announced that it will extend its “Internet Essentials Program” indefinitely.  This program connects more than 1.2 million Americans to the power of the internet at home.  It will also sponsor over $1 million in grants to non-profit organizations across the country to create Internet Essentials Learning Zones. (Details)

Event: March 26, 2014. Faith in Action Emergency Preparedness Summit. Washington, D.C.

Having trouble viewing this invitation? Click here for a webpage view.

 Faith in Action Emergency Preparedness Summit 

When

Wednesday March 26, 2014 from 10:00 AM to 3:00 PM EDT
Add to Calendar 

Where

Trinity Washington University
125 Michigan Avenue, NE
O'Connell Auditorium
Washington, DC 200017  

This event is free and open to the public, but faith leaders and official representatives will be given priority in registration. Lunch is included. For more information, please email Ericka Oliver or call (202) 727-7925.

Register Now!  

In partnership with the Mayor's Office on Religious Affairs, DC Homeland and Security Management Agency (HSEMA) and DC Voluntary Organizations Active in Disasters (DC VOAD), Serve DC invites District houses of worship and faith leaders to participate in this half-day summit to discuss how the faith community can support the city's official Emergency Response System and be better prepared to respond during emergencies and disasters.

More detailed information on sessions and speakers is forthcoming.

This event is free and open to the public, but faith leaders and official representatives will be given priority in registration. Lunch is included. For more information, please email Ericka Oliver or call (202) 727-7925.

Jeffrey D. Richardson, MSW

Chief Service Officer

Serve DC – The Mayor’s Office on Volunteerism

Desk 202.727.7200 │ Mobile 202.297.2137 │Emailjeffrey.richardson@dc.gov

“So You Want to Work for FEMA”. Webinar: March 27, 2014

Webinar Session 1

“So You Want to Work for FEMA”

March 27, 2014                     11:00 am – 12:30 pm EDT

So you want to work for the world’s finest emergency management agency but are not quite sure how to go about it.  You checked USAJobs.com but did not find what you were looking for or even applied without success.  How do you go about getting your resume in front of the “right” person?

Join the Emergency Management Higher Education Program and Mr. Corey J. Coleman, FEMA Chief Component Human Capital Officer, for a webinar on FEMA’s recruiting activities.  Mr. Coleman and his staff will discuss:

·       FEMA locations,

·       Authorities available to hire students and recent graduates,

·       The Student Volunteer Program,

·       Upcoming hiring needs, and

·       Tips for the Federal hiring process. 

There will be time for questions and answers, so come ready to participate and learn about FEMA’s recruiting authorities and activities.

Point your browser to

https://fema.connectsolutions.com/hied-recruiting/event/registration.html

Questions?  Contact Dr. Houston Polson, Director FEMA Emergency Management Higher Education Program at Houston.polson@fema.dhs.gov or call 301-447-1262.

African Union. U.S. Representative Her Excellency Amina Salum Ali

Her Excellency Amina Salum Ali

Ambassador Amina Salum Ali became the permanent representative of the African Union to the United States on April 13, 2007.

Ambassador Ali speaks on behalf of the African Union and its member states to accelerate socio-economic integration of the continent, promote peace and stability, and build partnerships between African governments and all segments of civil society, in particular women and youth, as well as the private sector.

One of the major functions of her office is to support the African diplomatic corps in its efforts to consolidate and strengthen partnerships with both the executive and legislative branches of the U.S. government, as well as other federal agencies, the Bretton Woods institutions and the Organization of American States.

A veteran Tanzanian civil servant and politician, Ambassador Ali was born and raised on the island of Zanzibar and educated in India, where in 1979 she earned a bachelor's degree in economics, and two years later a master's in business administration in marketing. She was a long-serving member of Parliament and has held various ministerial positions in the Tanzanian government, the most recent of which was minister of state in the office of the chief minister in Zanzibar.

Ambassador Ali also served as a board member of various institutions such as the Tanzania Telecommunication Company and Mzumbe University in Morogoro. In addition, she established various capacity-building institutions including the Institution of Finance Administration and the Presidential Fund for Self- Reliance.

As the African Union's first woman ambassador, Ambassador Ali is committed to promoting women's rights and children's issues. She is also the founder of Zanzibar Women Welfare Trust, an NGO that supports the development of women and children to combat devastating health issues like HIV/AIDS. Ambassador Ali is also is a member of IDB Bank eminent women panel to mainstream women development policies in the bank.