From the 6th to the 18th of May CHDA and its many partners hosted an Anglophone Risk Preparedness workshop at the Great Zimbabwe National Monument World Heritage Site in Zimbabwe. The course attracted 25 participants from 16 Anglophone African Countries, although 24 managed to attend, Botswana withdrew last minute; Zimbabwe (8), South Africa (1), Egypt (1), Nigeria (1), Namibia (1), Ethiopia (1), Sierra Leone (1), The Gambia (2), Ghana (1), Kenya (1), Sudan(1), Mozambique (1), Lesotho (1), Malawi (1), Tanzania (1), and Swaziland (1). 9 among the participants were females. The course had participants working on development of Frameworks for Risk Preparedness Plans for 16 African Sites, including 3 on the Tentative List and also the National Archives of Zimbabwe. The main objective of the training workshop was to provide an overview of the various types of risks threatening world heritage properties. In particular, the workshop was intended to develop skills for heritage professionals to enable them to:
 

1.      Undertake risk assessment by analyzing vulnerabilities and disaster risks to heritage sites

2.      Formulate and implement risk preparedness plans for sites

3.      Establish a support network for risk management through building capacity needed to formulate comprehensive risk preparedness  plans

Participants had all done pre-workshop preparations by identifying and assessing risks at sites they were affiliated to, an exercise intended to familiarize them with risk management issues in their respective countries. The methodology employed at the workshop was theory (classroom based learning based on theory and case studies) and practice (field based learning). This enabled the participants to learn how to apply the lessons learnt. Great Zimbabwe World Heritage Site was used both as a case study and for practical application of learning objectives.

Resource manuals and other reference materials were provided to the participants for further research as they develop Disaster Risk Management Plans for their Sites. The Course was made possible through the contribution of CHDA, AWHF, ICCROM, UNESCO World Heritage Centre, UNESCO Windhoek and Harare cluster offices, Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the National Museums and Monuments of Zimbabwe (NMMZ).