To produce ASEAN’s future leaders with a mastery of disaster management tools and regional coordination mechanisms
To strengthen solidarity and connectivity among ASEAN’s disaster management professionals
To provide a safe and engaging learning environment to foster a shared sense of regionalism and cooperation
ACE graduates are sought as experts in humanitarian assistance, both nationally and in the wider ASEAN region
ACE graduates are committed to supporting ASEAN’s coordination mechanisms andput One ASEAN One Response vision into action
ACE graduates are results oriented
ACE graduates are effective leaders
Presentations by global leaders in disaster management and response that provide insights based on their professional experience. Participants then ask questions related to leadership qualities and best practices.
The ACE Programme features on-site educational and professional training in Japan, where participants learn about Japan’s early warning system, disaster preparedness, emergency relief and recovery strategies. A course on Critical Incident Leadership is delivered in partnership with the New Zealand government.In Jakarta, ACE Programme participants also learn about the Incident Command System from trainers in the US Forest Service as well as strategic thinking from the Asia-Pacific Center for Security Studies (APCSS) based in Hawaii. The three-week English Course for Disaster Management is being delivered by the Middlebury Institute of International Studies based in California.
In Subang, Malaysia, a course in Humanitarian Logistics is provided to Programme participants by the World Food Programme (WFP) and the United Nations Humanitarian Response Depot (UNHRD). The ASEAN-ERAT Induction Courses were conducted in various ASEAN Member States to also provide participants with first-hand exposure to the actors, structures, and situations on the ground level. For example, the ASEAN-ERAT Induction held in the Philippines in 2016 took participants to Tacloban, ground zero of Typhoon Haiyan. In 2019, the Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement took participants to Palu, the area hardest hit by the Central Sulawesi, Indonesia, earthquake and tsunami that struck in 2018.
The ACE Programme offers participants in-depth, semi realistic simulations of disaster response conditions during the ASEAN-ERAT Induction Course. There they train with ACE Programme and ERAT partners such as MAP Action, Telecom Sans Frontieres, UNOCHA, UNDAC and AADMER Partnership Group.
Throughout the ACE Programme, the participants interact with some 30 organisations working in the region on disaster management, including the Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement, various United Nations agencies, academic institutions, technical institutions, civil society, consultants, and leaders in various fields.
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. ”