September, 2006: ORI presence at the International Conference for Disaster Reduction in Davos, Switzerland

September 1, 2006, Davos Switzerland
Guy Sapirstein, a senior partner with Organizational Resilience International, LLC presented a paper and convened sessions in the International Disaster Recovery Conference, in Davos, Switzerland. This UN sponsored conference brought together Disaster Risk Reduction experts from across the globe to discuss strategies for disaster risk mitigation.

Guy Sapirstein presented a paper titled "Human Impact Preparedness: Putting people first" to a packed room in the conference center, nestled in the Swiss Alps. In addition he advocated successfully for the inclusion of the importance of psychosocial impact of disasters in the conference closing statement delivered by Dr. Walter J. Amman.

This conference was a follow up on the Hyogo conference in 2005. The Hyogo conference resulted in the "Hyogo Framework for Action 2005-2015: Building the Resilience of Nations and Communities to Disasters".

An important theme that emerged from the conference was that human, or people, needs are poorly understood in terms of disaster risk reduction and that implementation has been significantly lacking.

For more information please refer to the following resources:

Organizational Resilience International, LLC
New England Disaster Recovery Information Exchange
Or email: info@oriconsulting.com