UNESCO presents results of the BERLAC project on disaster risk reduction in school infrastructure in the Dominican Republic

This is an automated translation of the press release issued in Spanish

Within the scope of the project “Capacity Development for Disaster Risk Reduction in Built Environments in Latin America and the Caribbean” (BERLAC Project) financed by the Japan Trust Fund, and implemented in the period 2021-2023, UNESCO and the Ministry of Education of the Dominican Republic, presented in Santo Domingo on October 29, the results achieved in the country, within the framework of said project.

The Dominican Republic was one of five Latin American and Caribbean states selected to implement this initiative, along with Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua and Peru. Two components were implemented in the country: (C2: School Infrastructure Security) and (C4: Risk-Informed Policymaking).

Within the framework of (C2), two infrastructure assessment methodologies were implemented: the VISUS methodology (Visual Inspection to Define Strategies to Improve School Safety) and the methodology Using Artificial Intelligence (AI) to minimize educational disruption after natural threats.

The VISUS tool was developed by the University of Udine, Italy, and together with UNESCO it has been successfully implemented in more than 10 countries around the world. It is a multi-risk analysis of five categories: ordinary use, fires, floods, wind resistance and vulnerability to earthquakes.

Within the framework of this project, a local consultant, engineer Ashley Morales Cartagena, was trained, who in turn trained 64 VISUS inspectors in the country to evaluate school safety in 85 educational centers in 5 provinces: San Cristóbal, San Pedro de Macorís, Sánchez Ramírez and Monseñor Nuel. The project culminated with a detailed report of the risks and specific solutions for each educational center, which will be delivered during the meeting to the competent authorities.

The methodology Using Artificial Intelligence (AI) to minimize educational disruption after natural hazards was developed by University College London (UCL) and implemented in the province of San Pedro de Macorís, using data from 288 schools. This methodology models the days of educational disruption, possible mitigation strategies and their costs after a seismic event or flood, for three different scenarios: no intervention, intervening only in schools, and finally intervening in schools and bridges.  

For the fourth component, UNESCO developed risk-informed policy recommendations, focusing on all actors involved in the construction process with the potential to generate positive changes in the configuration of the built environment.

The meeting to present the results took place at the W&P hotel in the Dominican capital and was attended by the directors of the educational centers that took part in the aforementioned studies.

The event was also attended by the Vice Minister of Education, Ms. Ancell Scheker; the Ambassador of the Permanent Delegation of the Dominican Republic to UNESCO in Paris, H.E. Mr. Andrés L. Mateo, and the Director of the National Office for Seismic Assessment and Vulnerability of Infrastructure and Buildings, Leonardo Reyes Madera.

Other Dominican government officials and academic representatives also participated.

With this event, UNESCO once again reaffirms its support for the Dominican Republic on the path to achieving increasingly safer schools.