On the initiative of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the Rescue Service and the Seismic Protection Territorial Service, a workshop on “Increasing Resilience through public awareness, preparedness and capacity building” was held in Kotayk province on December 5.

The purpose was to promote cooperation between state and local government bodies aimed at improving population protection mechanisms, disaster risk management planning, improving public awareness and crisis communication procedures and increasing resilience.

Press Secretary of the Minister of Internal Affairs, Head of the Public Communication and Awareness Department of the MIA Narek Sargsyan, emphasized the importance of not only the preparedness of the population and raising public awareness, but also the improvement of capacities at the community level and coordinated actions in targeted areas. In this context, he emphasized the public awareness events and training exercises regularly held in different regions of the republic.

RS Deputy Director Arsen Mkrtchyan noted that cooperation between stakeholder groups was an important prerequisite for forming a society more resilient to disasters and emphasized the development of volunteer potential in the Rescue Service.

Head of the Seismic Hazard Assessment Complex Department of the Seismic Protection Territorial Service Ani Gevorgyan considered the peculiarities of seismic hazard presented the seismic hazard maps of the Republic of Armenia in recent years, as well as the activities aimed at strengthening the resilience of communities for the purpose of protecting infrastructure and the population.

Head of the Population Protection and Disaster Risk Reduction Department of the Rescue Service of the RA MIA Gurgen Martirosyan presented the main hazards threatening Armenia, paying special attention to the main code of conduct in case of an earthquake.

Head of the Emergency Planning Division of Population Protection and Disaster Risk Reduction Department of the Rescue Service of RA MIA Hovhannes Hovhannisyan touched upon the need to develop a disaster risk management system at the community level, respond to emergency situations, map and increase the population preparedness, as well as existing issues and their solutions.

Head of the Information Provision and Statistics Department of the Crisis Management National Center of the Rescue Service of the RA MIA Lianna Abrahamyan presented the main mechanisms of public awareness and crisis communication implemented in the Republic of Armenia, emphasizing that preparedness and awareness make it possible to reduce the risks of crisis situations.

An active discussion took place during the workshop. Director of the Seismic Protection Territorial Service Sos Margaryan answered the participants' questions.

Summarizing the results of the workshop, Deputy Governor of Kotayk province Hayk Mkrtchyan expressed his gratitude to the Ministry of Internal Affairs for the initiative, emphasizing that topics related to earthquakes in particular are relevant and important, taking into account the seismic activity of the province and the strengthening of the culture of public safety in that context.

 The workshop was attended by employees of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and rescuers, representatives of the Kotayk Regional Governor's Office, administrative heads of communities and settlements of the province and emergency response personnel.