About the Events in 2022:

2nd Batch of DMHA Online Course (February 15th and 22nd, and March 1st , 2022)

This capacity-building intervention is introduced by the Asia-Japan Research Institute at Ritsumeikan University, in collaboration with the Asian Local Leaders Forum for Disaster Resilience (ALL4DR) of the Asian Disaster Reduction and Response Network (ADRRN), a network of NGOs across the Asia-Pacific region working in the field of climate change adaptation and disaster reduction and response, which is today known as the "Civil Society Voice of Asia." The Forum is hosted by the Sustainable Environment and Ecological Development Society (SEEDS).

About the Events in 2021:

Joint Seminar between the Australian National University and DMHA project researchers (October 20, 2021)

The members of The Locally-Led Disaster Management and Humanitarian Assistance (DMHA) in Asia project will be giving talks at the Australian National University Ritsumeikan University Joint Seminar, hosted by the ANU Japan Institute. Please visit the ANU website for details.

DMHA Online Workshop for Students (September 22, 2021) & DMHA Online Course (October 6, 13, 20, 2021)

To enhance capacity building for disaster management utilising the findings from this project, we have organised a workshop for students, and will offer an original and innovative online course for better disaster management and humanitarian assistance.

About the Project:
The Locally-Led Disaster Management and Humanitarian Assistance (DMHA) in Asia is a research project led by Dr. Miwa Hirono, Associate Professor/Associate Dean at the College of Global Liberal Arts, funded by the Asia-Japan Research Institute at Ritsumeikan University, Japan.

Under what circumstances (why, how, and when) does localization of disaster management and humanitarian assistance work effectively? On the other hand, what are the circumstances under which localization does not work well? What are the kinds of local capacities that need to exist in order for localization to work?

By asking these questions for academic investigation, this DMHA research project takes an interdisciplinary approach and establishes an analytical framework to investigate the effectiveness of localization in disaster risk management and humanitarian aid. It aims to fill the knowledge gap in the policy discourse on localization of DMHA based on research-based findings and empirical evidence. “Localization” in this project is defined as locally-led planning, implementation, and coordination of disaster management and humanitarian response.

The overall goals of the research project are to:

1. conduct systematic research on the ways in which locally-led disaster management and humanitarian assistance work;
2. create teaching materials for capacity building for the practitioners who engage in disaster and humanitarian relief activities; and
3. offer policy recommendations for the disaster risk management community.

This highly interdisciplinary academic research is composed of experts and scholars in the fields of anthropology, international relations, migration studies, history, development studies, public policy, and marine biology.