Local Resilience Agents

2020

Within the framework of the work of the Zurich Flood Resilience Alliance, Practical Action and its local partner, the Village Education Resource Centre, launched the resilience agents in Bangladesh. The local resilience agents are a community-based group responsible for sending out early warnings, building and strengthening relationships with government, advising communities, creating databases, and identifying those most at risk. The resilience agents are provided with learning opportunities in their interests to inform and acquire new skills in areas such as early warning, flood management, first aid, community risk assessment, gender, leadership, or COVID-19 prevention. The groups of local resilience agents are composed of different social groups: elected officials at the district level, members of the Union Disaster Management Committee, vulnerable women, social workers, and students. At least 50 % of the members are women. Especially in countries where there is a strong gender gap and women are often poorer and have less say than men, the new role of resilience agents gives them a better standing in society.