Mr. Mao Sahorn
National Committee on Disaster Management (NCDM) Cambodia (Batch 2)
After graduating from the ACE Programme in 2015, I was designated as an executive official from of organization to manage the joint cooperation projects/programme in-country and overseas with ADB, JICA, UNESCAP, ADRC, ASEAN, etc. In 2019, I was promoted to a new post as the Deputy Director of Department of Education, Awareness and Training. I feel confident with my present job and I am doing a good job because of my capacity I gained from the ACE programme for 6 months at the AHA Centre. I gained many skills and knowledge on humanitarian work and experience in ASEAN as well as our sessions in Japan and New Zealand. In my country, I feel very confident to work with UN partners, academic and government ministries to coordinate and communicate in pursuing projects and programmes in Cambodia.
Mr. Henrikus Adi Hernanto
National Disaster Management Authority of Indonesia (BNPB) Indonesia (Batch 4)
The ACE Programme has helped me a lot to become an effective leader by providing on-the-job training and capacity building. It allows me to acquire professional experience on disaster management as well as providing a platform to form a strong network with other ACE Programme colleagues for strengthening future regional cooperation. I am using the new knowledge and skills in my organisation by helping my superiors and director in decision making and supporting them on technical matters during meetings both in national and international cooperation work.
Ms. Mary Ann Sarah Ulat
Office of Civil Defense (OCD) - National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) The Philippines (Batch 6)
As a middle manager and future leader in DRRM, continuous growth is important. Through the ACE Programme, my learning process has empowered me holistically. It was a personal journey with a shared goal. It widened my horizon professionally and personally that made me see what the world can offer and I in return. The technical know-how we acquired and more importantly the relationship that we started to build among ASEAN brothers and sisters as well as other partners whom we crossed path with during the ACE journey is a strong foundation in building national resilience and reinforcing One ASEAN One Response.
Mr. Meas Rasmey
National Committee on Disaster Management (NCDM) Cambodia (Batch 1)
The ACE Programme mades me aware of humility, tolerance, and critical thinking. I know how to communicate and how to solve a problem better with colleagues and other people around. I know how to manage information, to direct and lead during times of crisis. I have shared what I have learnt above with my colleagues and other people working in the field of crisis management. For example, I have shared my deployment with other ASEAN-ERAT in the Second High Level Visit of Myanmar’s Delegation to Bangladesh in December 2019. We set up an unofficial network of all 19 members of ASEAN-ERAT Cambodia from national to sub-national levels. We usually share the crisis information and the deployments in and outside the country. Networking, having a systematic mechanism, managing and leading in crisis are what I learnt from ACE Programme. This is about how to serve and save people’s lives effectively particularly in the real time of crisis.
Mr. Marc Rembrandt P. Victore
Office of Civil Defence (OCD) - MIMAROPA (Batch 2)
The ACE Programme gave me an insight on how the ASEAN community manages the adverse effects of disaster through its established systems and protocols (AADMER, ASEAN-ERAT, etc.) and different ways the ASEAN Members States provide the necessary assistance to the affected populace. This is a vital factor in the mobilization of response mechanisms to ensure the efficiency and effectiveness of the response operations.
Mr. Dao Trong Hau
Viet Nam Disaster Management Authority (VNDMA) Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development Viet Nam (Batch 5)
Prior to joining the ACE Programme, my work was limited to domestic disaster management. Through the ACE Programme, I was trained and exposed to many new knowledge of disaster management of different countries in Southeast Asia and around the world. I have improved my English skills, I have more international friends, which gives me more opportunities to reach out and coordinate with other countries in the region to respond to natural disasters in future. That means my work and network was upgraded to the international level, which I have gained throughout the ACE Programme.
Mr. Khamsouk Somphavong
Ministry of Labour and Social Welfare Lao PDR (Batch 5)
The ACE Programme is the best programme I have participated so far. It brings together ASEAN disaster management officials, provides us with knowledge and skills on disaster management, and expands our networks from the ASEAN member states and other humanitarian actors and we can share our experience that we got from the programme to our colleagues, for example when I am a head of team I am able to demonstrate balanced decision making . The training conducted in English helped me improve my capacity to use English to communicate with others to coordinate in disaster management and other issues when I came back to my country. I am confident to communicate with external experts. The ACE Programme enhanced my capacity in humanitarian collaboration and I am confident to coordinate effectively with humanitarian partners. The most important is our solidarity however different our countries and culture are, but we live as one family – no one is left behind. All staffs of AHA Centre are our relatives who are supporting us all the time. I felt that we are not only partners but we are a family.
Ms. Win Ohmar
Department of Disaster Management (DDM) Ministry of Social Welfare, Relief and Resettlement Myanmar (Batch 1)
The ACE Programme provided a good foundation for disaster management and also for training leaders from the youth. We got the experience how to utilise disaster management systems not only from the ASEAN region but also from the UN. Another advantage from this program is we built trust and good friendship among ASEAN NDMOs so it can be smoother and more cooperative when we are operating and solving problems relating with disaster management. The ACE Programme helped me be more effective and efficient in my field and also it became a good foundation for me when I taking my Master’s Degree on Disaster Risk Management at Kobe University.
Mr. Ram Chum Mang
Department of Disaster Management (DDM) Ministry of Social Welfare, Relief and Resettlement Myanmar (Batch 6)
This programme helped me improve my knowledge and skills on disaster management and enriched my capacity to communicate and coordinate with government officials and humanitarian actors. And the course also helped me understand myself better to lead other staff members towards the effective achievement of disaster response, especially in armed conflict response in Chin State, Paletwah township, Myanmar.
Ms. Palida Puapun
Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation, Ministry of Interior of Thailand (Batch 7)
The ACE Programme enhanced all dimensions of my skills – not only my technical skills, but also experience in areas of leadership as well. Moreover, the ACE Programme provided specialist mentoring, and engaged a young generation of leaders across the ASEAN region, allowing younger generations to ensure positive engagement and change on a regional level.
Mr. Muhammad Fauzie Ismail
National Security Council , State of Melaka Office Malaysia (Batch 2)
Despite being able to experience the actual deployment first-hand, the most valuable learning point was the importance of having effective training – especially from the ASEAN-ERAT Induction Course, ARDEX and other similar trainings. These trainings are carefully constructed to enable the participants to visualise the real situation, and I feel that all these trainings really prepared me prior to actual deployment.
Mr. Sombath Douangsavanh
Social Welfare Department, Ministry of Labour and Social Welfare Lao PDR (Batch 2)
Despite being able to experience the actual deployment first-hand, the most valuable learning point was the importance of having effective training – especially from the ASEAN-ERAT Induction Course, ARDEX and other similar trainings. These trainings are carefully constructed to enable the