Lessons in disaster resilience
Ky Luu, executive director of the Disaster Resilience Leadership Academy at Tulane University, says the DRLA Summer Institute in Washington, D.C., will immerse students in lessons on humanitarian advocacy and disaster operations. As former director of the Office of Foreign Disaster Assistance and vice president of the International Medical Corps, Luu is an expert in the field of disaster resilience and humanitarian assistance. (Photo by Paula Burch-Celentano)
From visits to such agencies as the U.S. State Department and the Department of Homeland Security, to lectures on humanitarian decision-making and disaster management, participants in the upcoming Disaster Resilience Leadership Academy (DRLA) Summer Institute in Washington, D.C., will be immersed in lessons on humanitarian advocacy and disaster operations.
The DRLA is a Tulane University program that promotes research, stimulates global communication among disaster resilience leaders and trains current and future leaders in disaster resilience and humanitarian assistance.
The Summer Institute, open to both Tulane and non-Tulane students, offers two three-credit courses: Institutions & Politics of Humanitarian Advocacy (July 1â“14), in partnership with the U.S Institute for Peace, and Case Studies in Disaster Operations (July 15â“28), in partnership with World Vision International.
Ky Luu, executive director of DRLA, said Washington, D.C., is the ideal setting for the institute because it is home to dozens of agencies involved in disaster management, including FEMA, the U.S. Agency for International Development, the Department of Defense and InterAction.
“Students will be able to hear firsthand from the policy and operational actors who are on the front lines of global humanitarian and development challenges like Syria, Central African Republic and Nepal,” Luu says.
“We"re also going to reflect on the 10th anniversary of Hurricane Katrina and highlight lessons that have emerged from this ongoing recovery, and how it can inform both domestic and international efforts to reduce disaster risks and promote resilience in vulnerable communities.”
June 22 is the deadline for applications. Students may request an application by email.
Among those who have already signed up are several Tulane graduates, including students pursuing master"s degrees in social work and disaster resilience leadership, as well as non-Tulane participants, including Said Abdullahi Mohamed, a member of the Federal Government of Somalia and its former minister of planning and international cooperation.
“We're also going to reflect on the 10th anniversary of Hurricane Katrina and highlight lessons that have emerged from this ongoing recovery.”—Ky Luu, Disaster Resilience Leadership Academy executive director
