Disaster Education Promotion Office (DEPO)
Disaster Education Promotion Office (DEPO)
The Disaster Education Promotion Office (DEPO) collaborated with ICIMOD (International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development) and partner organizations to strengthen disaster preparedness education in Dhankuta Municipality, Koshi Province.
The three-day programme designed for high-school teachers focused on enhancing practical understanding of disaster risk reduction (DRR) and early warning systems; through interactive learning, hands-on demonstrations, and classroom-ready teaching methods.
ICIMOD-led sessions on risk awareness
The first two days of the event were led by specialists from ICIMOD who were directly involved in developing local-level teaching materials on disaster preparedness for Dhankuta Municipality.
A total of 40 teachers participated, gaining insights into:
Local disaster risks A contextual curriculum framework Teaching approaches tailored for high-school learners Tools and materials developed specifically for municipal-level DRR education Use of early warning systems for weather related events through Prakop Alert App designed by ICIMOD, its function, usage and proper handling mechanism
These sessions laid a strong conceptual foundation for teachers to integrate DRR meaningfully within their school environment.
DEPO-led workshop on using creative approach to understand DRR was conducted using practical, activity-based DRR training that allowed teachers to experience the power of gamification in disaster education.
The hands-on activities included:
The reflections from teachers after the training highlighted the importance of experiential learning in disaster education and the effectiveness of DEPO’s activity-oriented approach borrowed from Plus Arts NPO, Kobe, Japan.
DEPO remains committed in expanding such programs in collaboration with organizations and municipalities that seek to foster a culture of preparedness.