On March 17, 2009, USAID’s Preparedness, Planning and Economic Security program will sign Memoranda of Understanding (MoU) with thirteen municipalities in the area of disaster planning and emergency response. At the same time, they will also sign MoUs in support of youth empowerment and youth entrepreneurship programs. The new municipalities joining USAID’s program include: Babušnica, Bela Palanka, Ćićevac, Dimitrovgrad, Gadžin Han, Knjaževac, the City of Niš’ Pantelej and Palilula municipalities, Paraćin, Pirot, Trstenik, Varvarin and Žitoradja.
Prof. dr. Žarko Ranković, City of Niš Counselor, will host the ceremony and Michael Pillsbury, Program Director, will address the participants at the event and sign MoUs with the mayors.
The signing of the MoUs formalizes cooperation and demonstrates the joint commitment of USAID’s program and the fourteen municipalities to collaborate in two areas: first, to improve the capacities of local actors to plan for and respond to crises, and secondly, to strengthen the capacities of the newly established Local Youth Offices and to implement the Junior Achievement program in high schools for the 2008/2009 academic year.
These municipalities face many natural and manmade hazards, such as floods, landslides, fires and air and soil pollution that have the potential to endanger public health and safety, as well as cause considerable damage to municipal and residential property. To date, over 670 persons from 50 municipalities' Disaster Management teams throughout Serbia have attended U.S. supported trainings in the areas of risk assessment, risk management, and planning methodology in order to improve disaster management at the local level.
Additionally, many students in Serbia lack access to practical educational opportunities, which the program seeks to address by equipping Serbian youth with the specialized skills required by employers, through Junior Achievement activities and other entrepreneurship training programs targeting youth.
USAID’s Preparedness, Planning and Economic Security program is a broad and multifaceted program that works with over 80 municipalities across Serbia. The Preparedness and Planning component of the program builds a sustainable and systematic approach to local-level disaster management and assists municipalities to become more resilient to emergencies, while the Economic Security aspect of the program works with Serbia’s young people to improve their entrepreneurship and employment market skills so they can more successfully enter the work force or start their own businesses.
Journalists interested in attending the ceremony are kindly invited to be at the City Assembly building, Nikole Pašića 24, Niš, on Tuesday, March 17, at 10:45 am.