Workshop Agenda

(20–21 February 2025)

Location: Institute of South Asian Studies, 29 Heng Mui Keng Terrace (Block B), Singapore

Day 1: 20 February 2025, Thursday

9:30 AM – 10:00 AM	Registration Plenary Session Emcee: Madhavi Pundit, Senior Economist, Asian Development Bank
10:00 AM – 10:30 AM	Welcome Remarks Teoh Su Chin, Deputy Regional Director, Singapore Office, Asian Development Bank Iqbal Singh Sevea, Associate Professor and Director, Institute of South Asian Studies
10:30 AM – 10:45 AM	Group Photo and Coffee Break
10:45 AM – 11:05 AM	Presentation: Overview of the Sendai Framework Gender Action Plan (Sendai GAP) Mary Picard, Director and Senior Consultant, Humanitarian and Development Consulting Athena Denise Galao, Programme Coordinator Gender and Climate Action, UN Women Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific
11:05 AM – 12:15 PM	Panel Discussion: Implementation of Gender-Responsive Disaster Risk Management and the Sendai GAP Razwanur Rahman, Director General, Department of Disaster Management, Bangladesh Major General Udaya Herath (Rtd), Director General, Disaster Management Centre, Sri Lanka Anil Pokhrel, Senior Advisor, Planeight Risk Consulting, Nepal Sonia Akter, Associate Professor, Crawford School of Public Policy, Australian National University Moderator: Zonibel Woods, Senior Social Development Specialist, Asian Development Bank
12:15 PM – 12:30 PM	Discussion Session
12:30 PM – 1:30 PM	Lunch
Technical Session 1: Presentation of Technical Papers on Gender and Disasters (20 minutes for presentation, 5 minutes for discussion, and 10 minutes for Q&A, per presenter)
	Session Chair: Farzana Munshi, Professor, BRAC University
1:30 PM – 2:05 PM	Kabalen Lipata: Gendered Repertoires of Climate-Related Disaster, Finance, and Debt Among Women Borrowers of Microloans in Sri Lanka Nedha de Silva, Research Fellow, Monash University Discussant: Sanchita Basu Das, Economist, Asian Development Bank
2:05 PM – 2:40 PM	The Impact of Community-Disseminated Early Warning Systems on Flood Preparedness in Rural India Jenna Allard, Associate Director of Research and Policy, Inclusion Economics at Yale University Discussant: Olivia Jensen, Deputy Director and Lead Scientist (Environment and Climate), IPUR, National University of Singapore
2:40 PM – 3:15 PM	Gendered Exposure to Heat Waves in South Asia Deepak Malghan, Assistant Professor, Indian Institute of Management Bangalore Discussant: Lydia Law, Co-Director, Heat Resilience and Performance Center, Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore
3:15 PM – 3:30 PM	Coffee Break
Technical Session 2: Presentation of Technical Papers on Gender and Disasters (20 minutes for presentation, 5 minutes for discussion, and 10 minutes for Q&A, per presenter)
	Session Chair: Amitendu Palit, Senior Research Fellow and Research Lead, Institute of South Asian Studies
3:30 PM – 4:05 PM	Political Economy of Gender and Government Responsiveness in Disaster Risk Reduction Joyita Roy Chowdhury, Associate Professor, FLAME University Discussant: Caroline Brassard, Adjunct Assistant Professor (Executive Education), LKYSPP
4:05 PM – 4:40 PM	Do Cyclones Affect Men and Women Differently? Evidence from Bangladesh using Sex-Disaggregated Rapid Survey Data after Cyclone Remal Sonia Akter, Associate Professor, Crawford School of Public Policy, Australian National University Discussant: Ranjita Dilraj, PhD Candidate, South Asian Studies Programme, Faculty of Arts & Social Sciences, National University of Singapore
4:40 PM – 5:15 PM	Are Natural Disasters Disastrous for Learning? Evidence from Seven Asian Countries Minhaj Mahmud, Senior Economist, Asian Development Bank Discussant: Liu Tong, Assistant Professor, LKYSPP, National University of Singapore
6:00 PM onwards	Welcome Dinner

Day 2: 21 February 2025, Friday

9:30 AM – 10:00 AM	Registration
10:00 AM – 10:30 AM	Opening Remarks Abdul Abiad, Director, Asian Development Bank
Practice and Policy: Integrating Gender in Disaster Risk Management (15 minutes for presentation followed by the discussion)
	Moderator: Madhavi Pundit, Senior Economist, Asian Development Bank
10:10 AM – 10:25 AM	Integrating Gender into Disaster Mitigation and Preparedness Veronica Cedillos, President & CEO, GeoHazards International
10:25 AM – 10:40 AM	How Gender Issues are Integrated in Disaster Management Policies: The Case of Bangladesh Fahmida Khatun, Executive Director, Centre for Policy Dialogue
10:40 AM – 10:55 AM	Group Photo and Coffee Break
10:55 AM – 11:10 AM	Gender-Responsive DRRM in Nepal: Amplifying Women's Voices in Decision-Making for Resilience Building Krishna Karkee, Coordinator, Women Humanitarian and Disaster Risk Reduction Platform
11:10 AM – 11:25 PM	Improving Inclusion in Disaster Risk Governance Mechanisms Ramona Miranda, Steering Committee Member/Director, Duryog Nivaran
11:25 AM – 11:40 PM	Integrating Gender into Heat Action Plans Zonibel Woods, Senior Social Development Specialist, Asian Development Bank
11:40 AM – 12:15 PM	Discussion Session
12:15 PM – 1:30 PM	Lunch
Finance and Insurance Solutions (10 minutes per presentation, followed by Q&A/open discussion)
	Moderator: Andreas Lunding, Senior Climate Change Specialist (Climate Finance) / Fund Manager, Asia-Pacific Climate Finance Fund (ACliFF) \| Asian Development Bank
1:30 PM – 1:40 PM	Introduction to the session
1:40 PM – 1:50 PM	ACliFF-Sponsored Project - Micro Insurance Solutions for Climate-Induced Risks Faced by Vulnerable Communities in India Andreas Lunding, Senior Climate Change Specialist (Climate Finance)/ Fund Manager, Asia-Pacific Climate Finance Fund (ACliFF), Asian Development Bank
1:50 PM – 2:00 PM	Financial Protection to Women in the Informal Sector Against Extreme Heat Exposure Bijal Brahmbhatt, Director, Mahila Housing Trust
2:00 PM – 2:10 PM	Climate Smart Insurance Solutions for MSMEs Manoj Pandey, Regional Coordinator – Asia Pacific, UNEP FI – V20 Sustainable Insurance Facility
2:10 PM – 2:20 PM	Integration of Climate Risk Insurance to Secure/Support the Financial Stability of MSMEs by Regional Development Bank in Sri Lanka Uthpala Gunawardana, Deputy Manager Sustainability Unit, Regional Development Bank, Sri Lanka
2:20 PM – 3:00 PM	Q&A/Open Plenary Discussion: Opportunities and Challenges
3:00 PM – 3:15 PM	Closing Session

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