The Australian Civil Military Centre (ACMC), the Philippines Office of Civil Defense and the Armed Forces of the Philippines conducted a three-day disaster relief table top exercise in Manila on 10-12 September.
ACMC is the co-secretariat of RCG, along with the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs and the US Centre for Excellence in Disaster Management and Humanitarian Assistance.
Responders to natural disasters face increasingly complex operating environments, characterised by new challenges and new actors. Global trends that are overwhelming the international humanitarian system come into sharp focus in South-East Asia.
The role that new media and communications technologies have played in the recent ‘Arab Spring’ uprisings, as well as in recent disaster responses, has sparked a large amount of academic and professional interest.
Civilian agency participation in military exercises has increased over the last ten years. This is a welcome development as exercises provide a platform to strengthen Australian whole of government crisis prevention, preparedness and response capability.
"Social networking and social media are playing an increasingly important role in responses to complex emergencies and natural disasters. The recent ‘Arab Spring’ uprisings in North Africa and the Middle East have highlighted aspects of
citizen-led networking and communication that have captured the world’s attention."