The UN/ISDR secretariat is launching PreventionWeb.net, a new website for increasing knowledge sharing on disaster risk reduction (DRR) issues, for both the general public – including media and teachers – and DRR specialists, on 15 November.

"Information and knowledge are key to reducing disasters, and this new tool will facilitate the sharing of information, expertise and experience. Prevention Web will be a reference for experts, practitioners and all people interested in building resilience to natural hazards,” said Salvano Briceño, Director of the UN/ISDR secretariat in Geneva.

For the first time, a website will provide a common tool for both specialists and non-specialists interested or working in the area of disaster risk reduction (DRR) to connect, exchange experiences and share information at all levels of the International Strategy for Disaster Reduction: local to global, UN, international and non-governmental organizations to citizens and companies. Prevention Web is a product of many months of user research, information architecture, visual and technical design, and testing, to meet the needs of target audiences in this field.

Prevention Web relies on contributions from the DRR community and includes: disaster risk reduction news, country reports, publications, good practices, fact sheets, networks and communities, and more. The beta release period will emphasize content development by calling for contributions from the community at large – UN, international, non-governmental, academic, and civil society partners. The website will be managed by a dedicated team of seven information managers between Geneva, Panama City, Nairobi, Cairo, Bangkok, Kobe and Bonn.

DRR practitioners are invited to submit their contents online at: www.preventionweb.net/english/submit/

Craig Duncan, senior coordinator of the project, said “Prevention Web is expected to become an indispensable tool for practitioners working to build the resilience of nations and communities to disasters, much like Relief Web has served the humanitarian response community in the effective delivery of emergency assistance.”

For more about the project, visit: www.preventionweb.net/english/about/ or contact: Craig Duncan, duncanc@un.org. Prevention Web will organize a press briefing later this year to explain to media and the public at large how they can use the tool to facilitate their coverage and understanding of disasters.