Future Leaders Network on Early Warning Early Action

Since 2015, anticipatory action programmes have been steadily growing. They are now implemented in over 60 countries by the Red Cross Red Crescent Movement, UN agencies, NGOs, governments and scientific partners, to reduce the impacts of hydro-meteorological hazards and compounding risks. Anticipatory action programmes can work in harmony with initiatives that provide people-centred early warning systems to disseminate warnings and connect them to early action plans and financing that support and involve the most vulnerable people. The achievements to date would not have been possible without country-level leadership, multi-stakeholder collaboration and championing efforts within national meteorology and hydrological services, disaster risk management agencies, National Societies, NGOs, UN agencies, scientific partners, universities and other government agencies.

Scaling up with a dedicated network

Scaling up this approach further will require a holistic approach that interweaves and aligns programmes that support early warning and early action from across the climate, development and humanitarian sectors. But how can we collectively nurture and sustain such efforts, and ensure that early warning systems and early actions reach more people and cover more hazards?

The Anticipation Hub, together with its partners, is uniquely positioned to provide opportunities for exchange, learning and advocacy to support current and future leaders on their journey to enabling early warning and early action. As a recent webinar and blog demonstrate, young people and young professionals can ensure that early warnings translate into anticipatory action by:

  • building interdisciplinary partnerships
  • ensuring an inclusive and people-centred approach
  • being connectors and communicators
  • embedding innovation while bridging science and practice.

More needs to be done to ensure that we mobilize, inspire and empower future leaders, increasing their capacity to break down sectoral silos and identify joint solutions to scale up early action. Doing so will require a collective effort to increase opportunities for South-South/ North-South training and education programmes, peer-to-peer and inter-generational learning and guidance, and cross-sectoral networks. To meet this need, the Anticipation Hub has launched the Future Leaders Network on Early Warning Early Action.

Objectives

Through the Future Leaders Network on Early Warning Early Action, the Anticipation Hub commits to connect, inspire and empower future leaders across practice, science and policy, to work collaboratively on enabling early warnings that translate into anticipatory action on the ground.

  1. Connect: Create an inclusive, fun and engaging networking space (virtual and in-person) to connect future leaders working in governments, universities, NGOs, Red Cross Red Crescent staff and volunteers, UN agencies and others to exchange expertise and identify partnerships.
  2. Inspire: Increase access to a supportive network of individuals that motivate and encourage one another, through the peer-to-peer and inter-generational exchange of experiences and sharing inspiring stories of change.
  3. Empower: Showcase initiatives led by early-career professionals, and promote existing opportunities for training, learning and leadership, while creating and advocating for new opportunities in collaboration with Anticipation Hub partners.

Organisational structure

The network is hosted by the Anticipation Hub, co-chaired by early-career professionals working in the academic, humanitarian and government sectors and supported by additional regional representatives, global outreach leads and intergenerational advisors. A balance of representation across gender, regions and organisation is striven for to increase the diversity of voices at the table.

The co-chairs are the driving force behind the network ensuring the objectives of the network are achieved. Co-chairs represent the network in strategic engagements, work with the core team to jointly deliver activities to serve the network and manage the network membership.

The current co-chairs of the network are:

  • Faith Mitheu, University of Reading, United Kingdom
  • Graziela Ariani Olua, Indonesian Agency for Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics, Indonesia
  • Toke J. Rogbo-Bengtsson, Danish Red Cross, Denmark

 

An Anticipation Hub liaison acts as the linking pin between the Anticipation Hub and the co-chairs/ core team to ensure that all activities of the network are aligned with and maximise the engagement/ communications opportunities provided by the Anticipation Hub and its partners. This role is appointed to a student intern at the Anticipation Hub. This role is appointed on a rolling basis as interns transition within the Anticipation Hub.

The regional representatives have the motivation and ambition to lead regional, national and/or local activities for the network, such as training, knowledge exchange and outreach. The representatives ideally have mixed experiences and complementary knowledge on early warning and early action enhancing their ability to bring together academia, hydro-met services and practitioners and leverage more partnerships/ collaboration in the region. The regional representatives work closely with the co-chairs based in, or working in their region. Up to three representatives are selected per region depending on the scope of engagements.

This role is appointed to the following individuals:

Latin America and the Caribbean

  • Matias Menalled, SMN Argentina Meteorological Service, Argentina
  • Christal Benjamin, Association of Caribbean States, Trinidad and Tobago

Africa  

  • Sebongile Hlubi, Lesotho Red Cross, Lesotho
  • Esther Muiruri, German Red Cross, South Sudan

Asia-Pacific

  • Tetty Rajagukguk, International Federation of the Red Cross Red Crescent, Indonesia
  • Reena Bajracharya, Intellectuals Center, Nepal

Other regions to be confirmed. If you are interested in being a regional representative, please get in touch with the co-chairs. Expressions of interest are considered on a rolling basis.

The global outreach leads focus specifically on engagement within different target groups - academia, hydro-met services and practitioners. These roles ensure these groups are well-represented and supported through the network. They manage relationships with specific partners and work with co-chairs and regional representatives to develop new opportunities for the network.

These roles are appointed to the following individuals:
Academia: Emmah Mwangi, University of Sussex
Hydro-met services: Amira N. Mostafa, Egyptian Meteorological Authority
Practitioners: Eduardo Castro, World Food Programme Mozambique

We are always keen to add more roles or consider joint positions.  If you are interested in being a regional representative or global outreach lead, or think we are missing a role, please do get in touch with the co-chairs. Expressions of interest are considered on a rolling basis and reviewed annually.

 

These advisors provide wide-spanning guidance and support to the core team to help them achieve the objectives of the network. They are available to support specific activities of the network, such as acting as mentors, and speaking at events. Advisors also utilise their networks and connections to generate a variety of opportunities for the networks’ members enabling more translation of early warning into early action e.g. providing internships/ work experience, study exchanges, training and/or funding for innovative research/practice projects. Advisors also help to untap resources for network-led engagement and outreach activities, especially in the regions.

Currently the following advisors support the network:

  • Lydia Cumiskey, Water Youth Network/University College Cork
  • John Harding, CREWS/World Meteorological Organization
  • Dorothy Heinrich, Red Cross Red Crescent Climate Centre/Anticipation Hub
  • Kara Siahaan, Head of Anticipation Hub
  • Mickey Glantz, Consortium for Capacity Building, Colorado University
  • Rodrigo Garibay, Disaster Prevention Research Institute, Kyoto University
  • Adele Young, Water Youth Network/IHE-Delft

If you are interested in being an advisor for the network please get in touch with the co-chairs. Expressions of interest are considered on a rolling basis.

Workplan activities

  • Communications and Outreach:
    • Internal events
    • Social media presence: Twitter @EWEA_FLN
    • Multimedia publications
  • Networking
    • Bi-monthly Mingle events
    • Mentoring
    • Speaking opportunities
  • Training and capacity building
    • Hydromet trainings
    • Mentoring programme
  • Research and publications
    • Blog posts
    • Academic articles
  • Events
    • Speaking and organisation of Global/ Regional Dialogue Platforms
    • Other Climate, DRR and humanitarian related events
  • Other projects
  • Network management and coordination:
    • Core team meetings
    • Intergenerational advisor meetings
    • Supporting Anticipation Hub intern

Join the network

All individuals who identify themselves as early-career or young professionals, and are willing to engage in the network’s activities, are welcome to express their interest in being part of the network. The network plans to organize activities including policy engagement, informal networking meet-ups, sessions at global and regional dialogue platforms and other knowledge exchange opportunities (e.g., blogs, technical workshops).

Please fill in the form below and the co-chairs will be in touch about upcoming activities.

Join the network

Contact us

Get in touch with the co-chairs to discuss any specific opportunities, contributions or suggestions for the implementation of the Future Leaders Network on Early Warning Early Action.

Faith Mitheu

Doctoral Researcher on Impact-based forecasting/ Forecast-based financing

University of Reading

Raise your Question

Graziela Ariani Olua

weather forecaster

Indonesian Agency for Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics (BMKG)

Raise your Question

Toke J. Rogbo-Bengtsson

forecast-based financing (FbF) delegate

Danish Red Cross

Raise your Question
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