The current report aims to understand and describe, notions of 'culture', 'disaster' and 'vulnerability'. The report extracts from existing literature exemplary stories of culture in disaster risk reduction and response and describes existing projects and tools related to culture in disaster risk reduction. The current document is a 'living document' intended for interaction with case cities, and hence it is an initial evaluation of a 'where do we stand now?'.
The document is divided in three parts, The first part is a conceptual part comprising six chapters offering an overview of the European Disasters in Urban centres: a Culture Expert Network (EDUCEN) project and of key topics in the field of culture and disaster such as subcultures, urban settings, and gender. The second part of the document attempts to describe in more detail the topics that the EDUCEN project may focus on while part 3 deals with policies, projects and tools.
Each part of this report concludes with a short summary. The report also includes a list of references and ten annexes that provide key definitions, key literature, projects, tools and exercises in the field of culture and disaster. This document will be regularly updated, adjusted or complemented when new insights or experiences present themselves during the course of the EDUCEN project.
