18th United Nations Sasakawa Award for Disaster Reduction Selection Process 2005

Join us in rewarding individuals and institutions from around the world who contributed, through innovative practices and outstanding initiatives, to reducing the risk and vulnerabilities of communities to natural hazards!

Closing date for nominations 29 July 2005
Provided through an endowment from the Nippon
Foundation to the United Nations
For more information please visit:
www.unisdr.org - www.eird.org - www.unisdrafrica.org

The United Nations Sasakawa Award for Disaster Reduction is worth approximately US$ 50,000 to be shared among the Sasakawa Laureate and recipients of Certificates of Distinction and of Merit. It is presented annually on the occasion of the International Day for Disaster Reduction, every second Wednesday of October. The Sasakawa Ceremony will be held this year on Wednesday 12, October 2005.

Eligibility for the Award
The candidate shall have distinguished herself/himself through outstanding and internationally recognized action in the following fields:
a) The implementation, at international or regional level, of activities designed to strengthen people's awareness of natural disasters;
b) The launching of scientific activities contributing to technological innovation facilitating disaster prediction;
c) The launching of scientific or social activities contributing to the strengthening of disaster prevention and preparedness;
d) The promotion of preventive activities which reduce the economic impact of disasters and contribute to sustainable development;
e) Any other activities recognized as essential in promoting disaster prevention and mitigation (land-use planning, seismic risk reduction, awareness-raising, education etc..)

The candidate shall not be subjected to any kind of discrimination on the grounds of nationality, religion, race, sex or age.

No candidate may nominate herself/himself. Past recipients cannot be renominated.

Nomination of Candidates for the Award
Proposals shall be made to the Administrator of the Award, who will submit them to the Jury, together with his/her comments. The Administrator may seek independent reports on the work carried out by candidates for the Award, which shall be submitted, when appropriate, by the Administrator for the consideration of the Jury.

Once nominated, candidates are requested to provide a Power Point presentation in English (10-15 minutes) with details of their work and contribution to reducing risk and vulnerability to natural and technological hazards.

Selection of the Laureate(s) and recipients of Certificates
An international Jury, composed by experts from different continents, will vote in a private meeting, on the basis of well-defined criteria, to identify and select the Laureate of the UN Sasakawa Award for Disaster Reduction. Since 1998, Certificates of Distinction and Certificates of Merit have been created to reward valuable contributions to disaster reduction. The Jury may however, decide not to designate any laureate, if it so wishes. The current Jury is composed by representatives from each of the following regions: Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean, Europe and Oceania.

Nominations of candidates can be made by the…
1. Former Sasakawa Award Laureates;
2. Representatives of institutions specializing in disaster
reduction;
3. UN specialized agencies;
4. Resident Coordinators of the UN System;
5. Permanent Missions to the United Nations Offices
in New York, Geneva and Vienna.

Nomination Forms
Once nominated, candidates should complete the nomination form for the 18th UN Sasakawa Award for Disaster Reduction 2005 (www.unisdr.org), and forward it by 29 July 2005 together with the requested detailed information in support of the nomination, to the ISDR Secretariat.

All nomination forms should be sent to:
Inter-Agency Secretariat of the International Strategy for Disaster Reduction (UN/ISDR) Administrator of the UN Sasakawa Award for Disaster Reduction Palais des Nations, 8-14 Avenue de la Paix, CH-1211 Geneva 10 Tel: (+41).(0)22. 917.27.86 / Fax: (+41).(0)22. 917.05.63 / E-mail: rosec@un.org Websites: www.unisdr.org - www.eird.org - www.unisdrafrica.org