Indonesian delegationPublished on 02.11.2023
Swiss Federalism and Disaster Risk Management: Presentation for the Indonesian Delegation upon invitation by the World Bank
Dr Soeren Keil and Johanna Jean-Petit-Matile, from the Institute of Federalism, were invited by the World Bank to present on the topic of Disaster Risk Management to a delegation from Indonesia. The first session introduced participants to the principles of Swiss federalism, which forms the basis of Swiss disaster risk management. The nature of Switzerland’s political system means that questions about competency, and subsequently coordination and cooperation, are often at the heart of disaster risk management, planning, prevention and response to disasters. The session examined how competences around disaster risk management are distributed and what coordination looks like in practice. It also discussed the federal, cantonal, and local agencies responsible for disaster risk management, highlighting their roles and functions. The second session delved into crisis governance in Switzerland during the COVID-19-pandemic, as one of the most recent examples of disaster risk management. An analysis of the competences and coordination in place during the COVID-19-pandemic served as the basis for discussing questions related to the financing of crisis management and state liability. Finally, the key challenges and learnings for future crisis management were reflected upon and summarized. Each presentation was followed by questions from the delegation and discussions about the presented topics.