On October 16, 2009, USAID’s Preparedness and Planning Program will certify five Vojvodina municipalities in acknowledgment of their progress on improving disaster management capacities at the local level.
Danijel Dašić, USAID representative, will speak at the ceremony and present certificates to the mayors of the following municipalities: Ada, Bela Crkva, Kovacica, Plandiste and Sremski Karlovci. Michael Pillsbury, Preparedness and Planning Program Director, will sign an Annex to the original Memorandum of Understanding with the Secretariat for Local-Self Government of AP Vojvodina and the municipality of Backi Petrovac. Additionally, Boris Barjaktarovic, Vice President of Vojvodina Executive Council, along with representatives from the Serbian Ministries of Defense and Interior, will address the audience in attendance.
“Participation in USAID’s Preparedness and Planning program has strengthened the determination of Kovacica citizens to collectively work towards rescuing lives and saving public property, and has also raised the understanding of private sector companies about the need to get involved in the response effort following disasters,” says Jan Puškar, Municipal Assembly Speaker of Kovačica. Vojvodina municipalities have recently undertaken steps in reviving the long-standing ‘culture of volunteerism’ in firefighting protection. The municipality of Kovacica has spearheaded such an initiative by hosting the Volunteer Fire Fighting Youth Camp, in June of this year.
These five municipalities have shown significant progress in improving disaster management systems at the local level. All five municipalities have been included in USAID’s program for over a year and all five have benefited from capacity building training, technical assistance and networking events organized by the program. The signing of the Annex to the original MoU with the Secretariat for Local-Self Government will further define cooperation arrangements with USAID on emergency planning and response.
USAID’s Preparedness and Planning program works with Serbian municipalities in support of communities’ efforts to improve disaster preparedness, response, recovery and prevention. To date, 33 municipalities have been certified by the program. Currently, 70 municipalities in Serbia are included in program activities.