IN FOCUS 2018 - UNDP MALDIVES

2018 issue

IN FOCUS

UPDATES FROM UNDP IN THE MALDIVES

IN THIS ISSUE 02 Youth Social Innovators

03 Building Women Leaders

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Community Disaster Preparedness

05 Promoting Disability Rights

WORKING TOGETHER FOR POSITIVE CHANGE Shoko Noda, Resident Representative - UNDP Maldives

2018 marks 40 years of UNDP being a trusted development partner of the Maldives. One thing has stood out throughout the years. It is the partnerships we relied on to help the people: be it from donors, governments, or civil society actors.

UNDP is happy to be in a position where we can be the connector between communities in need, and those who have the means to help.

We have joined together with many partners, including from leading industries. We are working with them to make the Sustainable Development Goals a reality for Maldives. This issue focuses on such initiatives.

We will continue our work to build networks and bring in the right resources. Thank you for joining us to help Maldivian’s find their own solutions to the challenges they face. give.undp.org/maldives

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In foc us - undp maldives 2018 issue

YOUTH AS SOCIAL INNOVATORS MIYAHELI - THE THIRD SOCIAL INNOVATION CAMP FOR MALDIVIAN YOUTH July 2018: Kickstarted in 2016, 'Miyaheli' is the first ever initiative of this kind in the Maldives. The social innovation camps brings together youth, ideas and the right tools to create innovative solutions to pressing issues in the society. This year's focus was on: creating a peaceful and tolerant community; increasing women’s voices; using new technology to create successful businesses; building youth movements; and creating green innovation.

The two winning ideas were the production of local sea salts products, and the creation of a platform to share pre-loved goods. The winning teams were awarded mentorship and training opportunities as well as seed funding. More: https://bit.ly/2MGN1QS Partners: Ooredoo Maldives, Business Centre Cooperation and the Government of Australia

ACCESS TO JUSTICE & HUMAN RIGHTS TRAINING COMMUNITY PARALEGALS AND FOSTERING PROBONO ETHICS IN STUDENTS April 2018: We partnered with the Maldives National University to bring Clinical Legal Education (CLE) to the institution! CLE helps train students in practical legal skills. Most importantly it fosters pro bono ethics in the students.

Partners: Maldives National University and the Government of Australia August 2018: The Legal and Justice Sector Baseline Study done in 2014 with UNDP's assistance, showed that finding a lawyer or legal assistance is a difficult task for the average person, and is one of the biggest barriers in accessing justice in the Maldives. Following this, we helped train people within the community to give legal aid, to guarantee that everyone has the chance to get help in resolving their legal problems for free at their island of residence.

Partners: Maldives Law Institute and the Government of Australia

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In foc us - undp maldives 2018 issue

BUILDING WOMEN LEADERS Techstars Startup Weekend Maldives - Women's Edition

May 2018: The Women's Startup Weekend was an action-oriented, highly inspirational and experiential 54-hour program, specifically targeted towards the development of women entrepreneurs, It brought together entrepreneurs, developers and experts from various industry sectors who came together to pitch ideas and launch businesses, all in one weekend which ultimately helped turn ideas into reality.

More: https://bit.ly/2QoGFbp Partners: Allied Insurance Company of the Maldives Pvt. Ltd., Male’ Aerated Water Company (MAWC), ALIA Investments Pvt. Ltd., and UNDP Youth Co:Lab

A Premium Partnership A Community Hub in Baa Atoll Maalhos Island Under 'Premium for Good' - a CSR Initiative by our private sector partner Allied Insurance Maldives

August 2018: Five computers and internet access was granted to the Baa Atoll Maalhos Island Community Hub under the Premium for Good initiative with the target of achieving the Sustainable Development Goals, mainly contributing to the Goals on Quality Education and Reduced Inequalities. This private sector partnership initiative will ensure that communities are able to acquire technological skills and access to the outside world, and prepare them for jobs which require computer literacy. More on the Premium for Good initiative: https://bit.ly/2N7WTr9 Partners: Allied Insurance Company of the Maldives Pvt. Ltd. and Ooredoo Maldives

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In foc us - undp maldives 2018 issue

A nation of islands barely above sea level, the Maldives is a special case for tsunami preparedness and response.

PREPARING COMMUNITIES FOR DISASTERS

TSUNAMI DRILLS CONDUCTED IN 5 ISLANDS

MOVING BEYOND TSUNAMI DRILLS, TO A COMPLETE EDUCATION AND PREPAREDNESS PROGRAMME We conducted school tsunami evacuation drills in five islands of the Maldives. With focused sessions, community spectators, and our young agents of change, we were able to reach beyond the school to the community. The students are now more informed and better prepared to take the best course of action available within their communities and islands in the event of a tsunami .

The results and lessons learned from the drills will feed into the final guidelines that will be adopted by the Ministry of Education and integrated into all School Emergency Operations Plans throughout the country.

More: https://bit.ly/2gzIW2O

Partners: Ministry of Education, the National Disaster Management Centre, Maldivian Red Crescent, the Fire and Rescue Service of the Maldives National Defence Force, Maldives Police Service and the Government of Japan

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In foc us - undp maldives 2018 issue

PROMOTING DISABILITY RIGHTS Maldives' First Promoting Disability Inclusive Development (PDID) Forum Held June 2018: The PDID forum was held under the ‘Smart Cities’ Project.

The forum aimed to review and improve accessibility and inclusivity of Persons with Disabilities. Evidence and experience shows that Persons with Disabilities continue to experience barriers to participation in all aspects of society.

When barriers to their inclusion are removed, Persons with Disabilities are empowered to participate fully in societal life, and the entire community benefits.

At the forum, multiple stakeholders came together and deliberated on the various challenges faced by Persons with Disabilities, and found ways on removing barriers that prevent this. More on the Smart Cities project https://bit.ly/2NCChqn Partners: Ooredoo Maldives and Housing Development Corporation

Sci-Tech Festival for Children March 2018: The Science and Technology festival for children was held under the 'Smart Cities' project. The festival aimed to generate interest among the next generation to be innovators in science and technology.

Partners: Ooredoo Maldives and Housing Development Corporation

A Coding Camp to Cultivate Young Programmers March 2018: We teamed up with ForLoop Coding Academy to host a coding camp for children. The objective of the camp, held under the 'Smart Cities' project, was to educate younger minds on the basics of programming. The camp encouraged creativity, collaboration, and problem-solving and logical thinking.

Partners: Ooredoo Maldives and Housing Development Corporation

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In foc us - undp maldives 2018 issue

TECHNOLOGY FOR DISASTER REDUCTION AND CLIMATE CHANGE ADAPTATION MAPPING ISLANDS USING DRONES April 2018: A training was held in Faafu Atoll Nilandhoo Island on drone based island mapping, for participants from the Atoll.

Faafu Atoll is a pilot atoll for this initiative. Following the pilot, detailed island maps will be generated for all inhabited islands of the Atoll. The maps would be used to identify unique risk profiles for the islands such as flooding and coastal erosion.

Partner: National Disaster Management Centre

FILM FOR CHANGE August 2018: Initiated in 2017, the purpose of 'Film for Change' is to stimulate dialogue on different social issues amongst young people, decision-makers and the wider community through the medium of film and cinematography. As in previous years, the project provided young people with necessary technical and creative skills on writing, directing and producing short films using minimal equipment.

Following the completion of the training component, mentors guided participant groups to produce four short films based on a social issue inspired by the SDGs on Quality Education, Gender Equality, Climate Action and Life Below Water. More: https://bit.ly/2x4CxFm Partner: Dhiraagu and the Government of Australia

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Photos Cover: Ashwa Faheem /UNDP Maldives, Page 3, Premium for Good: Allied Insurance Maldives, Page 4 aerial image of island: Mohamed Akram, school tsunami drill: UNDP, Page 5 Sci-tech festival: Ooredoo Maldives, Page 6 Film for Change: participant photo, Last page: Ashwa Faheem / UNDP Maldives

JOIN US TO SUPPORT THE MALDIVES Make My Island is a unique platform where UNDP in the Maldives and our trusted partners can work together to help communities find local solutions to local challenges. Through the Make My island platform, a number of private sector partners have already joined UNDP Maldives to work on projects focused on women, youth and climate action.

With direct involvement of communities, the projects are paving the way towards building the resilience of Maldivian communities.

To our partners, a big THANK YOU. Please join us and be part of the solution. http://www.makemyisland.mv/

UNDP IN THE MALDIVES / WWW.MV.UNDP.ORG REGISTRY.MV@UNDP.ORG

@UNDPMaldives