In a significant stride towards enhancing disaster management capabilities in the ASEAN region, the “Training for ASCEND Master Assessors and Workshop on the Review of the ASCEND Competency Standards” was successfully held on 14-18 August 2023 in Cebu, the Philippines.
The event kicked off with a series of opening remarks from distinguished guests. As the host of the event, ASEC Hernando M. Caraig, Jr., the Deputy Administrator for Operations of the Office of Civil Defense (OCD) Philippines, welcomed the participants and highlighted the importance of honing assessment skills in disaster scenarios.
Complementing this, Mr. Jinmo Kang, First Secretary of the Mission of the Republic of Korea to ASEAN, emphasised the significance of these initiatives as a continuation of the previous ASCEND activities in ensuring the practical applicability of ASCEND in the actual field. “By successfully carrying out the training and workshop, I hope that the final supplement will be made, and actual certification can be performed as planned,” he added.
Lastly, Mr. Lee Yam Ming, the Executive Director of the ASEAN Coordinating Centre for Humanitarian Assistance on disaster management (AHA Centre), expressed his gratitude to OCD Philippines for hosting the event and to the Mission of the Republic of Korea for the continued support to the ASCEND Project. He also reiterated the value of the training and the workshop in the development of ASCEND.
Empowering ASCEND Assessors
The primary aim of the four-day training on 14-17 August 2023 was to equip ASCEND Assessors with the necessary skills to become trainers themselves. Building on the foundation laid during the previous “Training for ASCEND Assessors” in Viet Nam, this phase focused on imparting knowledge, skills, and attitude essential for fulfilling the duties and responsibilities of an ASCEND Master Assessor.
Graduates of this training are poised to play pivotal roles as organisers, trainers, and facilitators for upcoming batches of ASCEND Assessors trainings in the ASEAN region and in their respective countries in the future. The training objectives encompassed a range of skills including planning, organising, and delivering group-based learning; facilitating learning in the workplace; designing and developing training programmes; utilising training packages; and addressing adult language, literacy, and numeracy skills.
A total of 27 participants from the ten ASEAN Member States and the AHA Centre finished the training through the facilitation of three ASEAN Master Assessors from the Indonesia Professional Certification Authority (BNSP) and The Filipino Hospitality (TFH).
Advancing Competency Standards
This event also facilitated a workshop dedicated to revisiting and updating the ASCEND Competency Standards to align with the ever-evolving humanitarian landscape and development. Throughout the two-day workshop on 17-18 August 2023, valuable feedback, insights, and suggestions gathered from a diverse array of subject matter experts and stakeholders through online communication were discussed on the first day and were validated with the National Disaster Management Offices (NDMOs) on the second day. This collaborative approach ensures that the endorsed ASCEND Competency Standards remain relevant and adaptive to emerging challenges, reflecting the latest best practices and advancements in disaster management.
Seventeen (17) subject matter experts actively shared their knowledge and expertise, contributing invaluable inputs on the ASCEND Competency Standards. These experts represent different non-government organisations and academic institution, including members of the AADMER Partnership Group (APG), UNOCHA, IFRC, World Food Programme (WFP), Habitat for Humanity International, PREDIKT, MapAction, Philippine Disaster Resilience Foundation (PDRF), Asian Institute of Management (AIM), HELP Logistics, Pulse Lab Jakarta, and Resilience Development Initiative (RDI).
These back-to-back activities were made possible by the generous support of the ASEAN-Korea Cooperation Fund (AKCF), underlining the mutual commitment to strengthening collaboration and preparedness within the region.
The highlights of the event can be viewed through the AHA Centre Official YouTube channel at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=obzoQPoEpzs.
