Hon Kris Faafoi

Minister of Civil Defence

16 August 2018

PĀNUI PĀPĀHO

MEDIA STATEMENT

Civil Defence Groups recognised at International Emergency Manager Awards

Minister of Civil Defence Kris Faafoi has congratulated Civil Defence groups from Wellington and the Bay of Plenty who received awards at the 2018 International Association of Emergency Managers (IAEM) Awards.

“New Zealand’s regions are leading innovative work to enhance our resilience, and it’s fantastic to see this work being recognised on the global stage,” Mr Faafoi says.

Wellington Region Emergency Management Office (WREMO) received the IAEM-Oceania Public Awareness Award for its Community Emergency Hub programme and guide.

The IAEM-Oceania Partners in Preparedness Award and IAEM-Global Partners in Preparedness Award went to the Marae Emergency Preparedness Project and Implementation Programme, a partnership between the Bay of Plenty Civil Defence Emergency Management Group and Te Puni Kōkiri. This project received funding from the Civil Defence Emergency Management Resilience Fund in 2015/16, administered by the Ministry of Civil Defence & Emergency Management.

“Involving members of all communities in Civil Defence Emergency Management helps build community resilience to emergencies and improves our readiness to response –and these initiatives do both of these crucial pieces of work.

“The Marae Emergency Preparedness Toolkit is designed to help marae be as prepared as possible in the event of an emergency by encouraging whānau, hapū and iwi to think about the possible impacts of a number of natural disasters, and to recognise who are the key people and skilled people that could be called upon in the event of an emergency. It is a straightforward and useful tool for marae communities across the country.

“Similarly, Wellington’s Community Emergency Hub program recognises that communities have many of the skills and resources needed to solve problems and help each other during a disaster. The Community Emergency Hub model provides a framework for the community to coordinate their efforts alongside the official emergency response.”

The International Association of Emergency Managers (IAEM) has more than 6,000 members worldwide and is a non-profit educational organisation dedicated to promoting the principles of emergency management and representing those professionals whose goals are saving lives and protecting property and the environment during emergencies and disasters.

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