JAKARTA/ONLINE, 3 December 2020 The first Project Steering Committee (PSC) Meeting for “ASEAN STANDARDS AND CERTIFICATION FOR EXPERTS IN DISASTER MANAGEMENT” (ASCEND) was organized by the ASEAN Coordination Centre for Humanitarian Assistance on Disaster Management (AHA Centre) on 3 December. 

The ASEAN Standards and Certification for Experts in Disaster Management (ASCEND) is an initiative launched by the ASEAN Member States to enhance the quality of human resources in disaster management by establishing a common set of standard skills and competencies, along with its validation process.

The initiative was initiated by the National Disaster Management Authority of Indonesia through its Professional Certification Agency on Disaster Management (PCA-DM) and the AHA Centre, with the endorsement from the ASEAN Committee on Disaster Management (ACDM). PCA-DM led the 1st phase of ASCEND development from 2016-2020. In 2020, the Republic of Korea confirmed its support to the AHA Centre through the ASEAN-Korea Cooperation Fund (AKCF) for the 2nd phase of ASCEND development in the next three years. Through this support, the AHA Centre will pilot and further institutionalize the ASCEND programme within the region, thereby strengthening itself to become the secretariat of the ASCEND programme.

In the meeting, co-chaired by Indonesia, Singapore, and Viet Nam and participated by around 20 representatives from the AHA Centre, AKPMT, the ASEAN Secretariat, Korean National Fire Agency, and the ROK Mission to ASEAN, the participants shared the progress of the project and discussed overall direction of the project, including the terms of reference of the PSC and the revision of its work plan and budget.

For more information on the progress of the project, please see the attached document prepared by the AHA Centre.