CUIDAR is a European wide project aiming to enhance the resilience of children, young people and urban societies to disasters and enable disaster responders to meet children and young people’s needs more effectively.

Cultural sensitivity is essential to effective disaster management and disaster risk reduction, yet disaster plans still largely view those affected as victims and as a homogenous group. Unfortunately, (with a few exceptions), children and young people are virtually invisible as active, engaged participants in national and international emergency planning processes for disasters such as extreme weather/flooding/wildfires/earthquakes and other human influenced environmental crises.

CUIDAR’s participatory approach will encourage emergency plans which can build on the experience and meaning of events in children’s lives and are badly needed at a time of increased vulnerability to disasters worldwide, not least due to climate change and the increase in more extreme weather events across Europe. The vulnerabilities to these disasters are numerous, ranging from direct impacts to floods, heatwaves, water shortage and landslides, to ecosystem-mediated health impacts including altered infectious diseases, food shortages, mental health and cultural impoverishment through to indirect impacts including population displacement and conflict.

CUIDAR objectives are:

• To better understand the risk perception, disaster needs and capacities of children and young people in urban societies.
• To strengthen children’s understanding of emergencies and the actions they can take to prepare themselves, their families and their communities.
• Increased awareness and understanding amongst disaster responders and policy makers of children and young people’s needs in disasters.
• More effective communication between disaster responders and children and young people in urban contexts.
• Improved disaster management framework, policies and practices that take into account the particular needs of children and young people in urban disasters.

What does CUIDAR involve?

• A scoping review of existing research and disaster management policies and practices relating to children and young people.
• Dialogues with children and young people to understand their perceptions of risk, strengthen their resilience and empower them to communicate their perceptions, priorities and needs in disasters to disaster practitioners.
• Mutual learning exercises with children, young people and disaster practitioners to raise awareness and influence local disaster policies and plans to include the particular needs and capacities of children and young people.
• National level dialogues with policy makers to communicate the needs priorities and capacities of children and young people in disasters and influence policy and practice.
• A European level dialogue to share learning from each country’s initiatives.
• Development of a EU framework for engaging with children and young people in disasters.

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