SANTO DOMINGO.- The National Office for Seismic Evaluation and Vulnerability of Infrastructure and Buildings (Onesvie) chaired the Round Table that brought together representatives of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (Unesco), as well as experts from Japan, Mexico, Guatemala, Peru, Cuba and the Dominican Republic, within the framework of the project "Resilient Built Environment for Latin America and the Caribbean" (BERLAC).
During the meeting they addressed the topic "Developing risk-informed policies for a resilient building environment", focusing on strengthening the construction of new buildings in Guatemala and Haiti, analyzing the safety of school facilities in the Dominican Republic, the detailed assessment for multi-story buildings in Cuba, among others.
Leonardo Reyes Madera, Director General of Onesvie, praised the effort made by the participating countries to ensure things are done right and said he agrees with the concerns expressed about the importance of developing policies with the potential to generate positive changes in the configuration of the construction environment.
Meanwhile, Laura García, UNESCO Science Officer for the Dominican Republic and Cuba, highlighted the achievements of the Berlac project, which has been implemented since 2020 with funding from the Government of Japan, and which seeks to strengthen the capacity to reduce risks from disasters.
"There is a great need to support earthquake-prone countries by training the local construction sector, as well as policymakers and structural engineers, to increase the safety of the building environment," García said.
Also attending in person were Diego Bautista, Director of the Risk Management Directorate of the Ministry of Education (Minerd); Franklin Tejada, UNESCO Programs Assistant; Francisco Rodríguez, UNESCO Education Officer; and Lork Kelvin Jerez, representative of the General Directorate of Infrastructure Maintenance of Minerd.
The hybrid activity that took place on Tuesday, September 19, 2023, was held at Onesvie's headquarters, located in the National Emergency Commission building.
