From 2000 to 2012, natural disasters in the Philippines took the lives of 12,899 people and injured 138,116. As part of ASSIST’s Social Actions, the board game Master of Disaster was developed to raise awareness among children and stimulate their interest on what leads to man-made disasters and more importantly, teach them how to respond to emergency situations. The game will teach children both, the values of independent thinking and teamwork, in addition to helping them build a strong sense of discipline and strategic decision-making while they are young.
Master of Disaster was created through an iterative development model centered on study and consultation, which ensured both education and entertainment. Gamification experts, disaster response experts, teachers, students and parents all participated in the development of this board game. By mid-2017, we had conducted tests with 200 students of varying ages, across 15 schools and community centers along with the facilitation of 75 teachers. This board game is distributed free of cost to public schools in the most disaster-prone areas.
Businesses in a country beset by disasters and catastrophes suffer from as much damage as its people. Most victims experience prolonged difficulty when “mission critical” enterprises are not able to get back on their feet soon after a calamity. ASSIST, together with TUV Rheinland Philippines Inc., implemented the project “Resilient Organizations Built for Sustained Transformation of Philippines (ROBUSTPHIL)” as a concrete step in making these mission-critical enterprises resilient. The project aimed to create the much-needed awareness for disaster and crisis preparedness covering the Four Rs: Risk Reduction, Readiness, Response, and Recovery.
The project equipped ten enterprises with the know-how on international standards and best practices that will make them resilient. Some of these international standards include Enterprise Risk Management (ERM), Information Security Management System (ISMS) and Business Continuity Management (BCM).
Through a CEO Forum, the project brought together top decision makers from various critical enterprises to propagate mass awareness on these standards. It also provided technical assistance and support for alignment towards the international standard (ISO 27001) on risk management. A best practice exchange forum was also conducted to share lessons and experiences in relation to climate action to create a multiplier effect. An e-learning toolkit on international standards was also provided and distributed to over 100 enterprises.
