Dear Readers, The month of July was eventful at ADPC.  Mr. Aloysius J. Rego (Loy) was appointed the new Deputy Executive Director of ADPC, approved by its Executive Committee on 11 July 2008. Loy’s association with ADPC dates back to 1996.  Since then he has assumed number of positions, roles and responsibilities at ADPC. Under his leadership as the Director of the Disaster Management Systems (DMS) team, he has implemented programs on mainstreaming disaster risk reduction (DRR), flood preparedness & risk reduction in the Mekong Delta provinces, community-based DRR and the development of governance policies, and DRM plans in South and South East Asia. He has been actively involved with the ADPC Regional Consultative Committee (RCC) mechanism. As ADPC looks to the future, Loy’s appointment as Deputy Executive Director will strengthen ADPC to further the growth of the Center.   ADPC signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) on cooperation on capacity building for preparedness, mitigation and early warning of natural disasters.   ADPC will facilitate the project, ‘integration of tsunami warning by strengthening multi-hazard warning systems’ for Sri Lanka, Vietnam, Indonesia and the Philippines.  The project will benefit government institutions and institutions involved in early warning  through early warning national forums, strengthening multi-hazard early warning systems in the target countries,  strengthening field-level capacities in translating hazard risk information into impact outlook and response options, communicating these information to communities within a risk management framework and testing the functionality and reliability of early warning systems through system audit.   The 17th Regional Training Course on Community Based Disaster Risk Reduction took place from the 21 July- 1 Aug in Bangkok with 36 participants from the region. At the opening ceremony, the Guest of honor, Mr. Djumantoro Purbo, Charge d' Áffaires, Embassy of the Republic of Indonesia affirmed ADPC’s role in implementing  programs for reducing disaster risks, vulnerability and building community capacities to promoting and enhancing a ‘culture of safety.’  The CBDRR course provided the participants essential skills and knowledge in community-based disaster risk management.   Participants with Dr. Bhichit Rattakul, Executive Director & Mr. Loy Rego, Deputy Executive Director, ADPC  ADPC produced the document, ‘National Guidelines for School Disaster Safety: Towards a Disaster Safe School-Sri Lanka, 2008’ along with the Delhi Disaster Management Authority, the Sri Lankan Disaster Management Centre, the Education Leadership Development Center/Meepe, Education officers of the Eastern Province and five pilot schools in Colombo and Ratnapura district. IRIN reported Loy Rego's insight on ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF) and its initiatives for disaster management in "Natural disasters spur regional cooperation in Asia" The recent announcement on ASEAN nations Regional Plan for Disaster Management specifically focused on greater civilian-military coordination and pooling resources to deal with natural disasters. Digital Review of Asia Pacific 2007-2008 featured an article by Mr. Frederick John Abo, ADPC on the role of ICTs in risk communication in Asia Pacific. The article emphasized on electronic health initiatives and the ‘last mile’ communication in disaster warning.  The above-mentioned press articles and the document are available on the ADPC website. Please browse through our website www.adpc.net for more ADPC news updates, publications, events and training calendar for 2008. I now inform you about our other activities for the month of July 2008.   Dr. Bhichit Rattakul Executive Director Asian Disaster Preparedness Center