Twenty-one Nepalis will be attending a short course on ‘Inclusive Governance for Effective Disaster Risk Reduction’ at the University of Queensland in Brisbane, Australia from February 19-March 3, the Australian Embassy said in a statement on Wednesday.

The Australian Government, through the Australia Awards, is hosting the course to enhance understanding of participatory processes for linking disaster management preparedness, planning, response and recovery across functional agencies, stakeholder institutions and civil society organisations.

“The course aims to broaden participants’ understanding of how to strengthen local and provincial ownership for effective disaster risk planning and response within a decentralised governance environment,” the statement reads.

Bidding farewell to the course participants, Australia’s Ambassador to Nepal Peter Budd said: “Building resilience against climate change and disasters is one of the cross-cutting themes for Australian Government Aid program in Nepal. We are pleased to support a short course on DRR for deserving candidates from the Government of Nepal who are DRR practitioners.

“We anticipate this training will draw on Australia’s own experience to help broaden understanding on how to effectively plan, coordinate and respond to natural disasters within Nepal’s new federalist government structures.”