Central Washington University Building Awareness Discussion

In Australia’s federated system, the state and territory governments are responsible for the provision of education to all school-aged children, for the administration and significant funding of vocational education and training (VET) and for legislation relating to the establishment and accreditation of higher education courses. To ensure that that disaster risk reduction knowledge is included in relevant education and training programs, the Australian Government has implemented a number of education and training initiatives. For example, the development of the Triple Zero Kids Challenge Game and website which helps parents and schools teach children aged from 5 to 10 years old about the importance of planning for emergencies and the practical steps on how to identify, confidently react to and report emergencies. Also, Before the Storm, a game for iPhone and iPod Touch, which is a freely available educational game for middle year primary students; the game is designed to encourage thinking about storm preparation, and disaster resilience, specifically preparation, actions during the storm, and after the storm and is based on the Australian Government’s Storm Action Guide. A wide range of research is undertaken in Australia to improve the understanding of our hazards and risks, as well as understanding and assessing community resilience.