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Between 28^th and 30^th of June, Dr. Jalal Dabbeek, Director of the Earth Sciences and Seismic Engineering Center at An-Najah Universityand the Vice President of the National Authority for the Disaster Risk Mitigation in Palestine, participated in the expert’s preparatory meeting about the establishment of an Arab network for the reduction of disasters’ risks.

The meeting was held in Tunisia in an invitation by the Arab Organization for Education, Science and Culture and in coordination with the Palestinian National Committee for Education, Science and Culture.  Participants came from different Arab countries including Tunisia, Palestine, Jordan, Algeria, Libya, Egypt, Syria, Mauritania, Yemen, Sudan and Qatar.

In the meeting, the participants discussed some of the items of the Arab Strategy for Disaster Risk Reduction and focused mainly on the preparations for the establishment of an Arab network for the reduction of natural disasters’ risks and climate changes. The participants shared opinions with the Arab Organization for Education, Science and Culture regarding the proposed Arab network, its goals, missions and work mechanism. A small committee that consisted of five members representing five different Arab countries including Palestine (represented by Dr. Dabbeek) was formed to set the proposed Network’s goals, missions and system. The proposal will be later presented to the representatives of the participating countries for approval.

Dr. Dabbeek participated with a work paper in which he spoke about the most important standards that must be included in the Arab Strategy for Disaster Risk Reduction, as well as the significant issues that the Arab Network must consider and focus on in order to accomplish its mission and the goals of the Arab Strategy for Disaster Risk Reduction.