A coordination meeting for the formation and organization of crisis management committees of the neighborhood councils of Arak city was held with the حضور of representatives of executive and specialized agencies and hosted by the secretariat of Arak Municipality’s Crisis Management Headquarters.

Masoud Aqaziyarti, Deputy for Urban Services of Arak Municipality, emphasized the need to develop neighborhood-based crisis management in this meeting and stated: Effective management of urban incidents and disasters requires active participation of citizens, leveraging local capacities, and coherent coordination among executive agencies, and increasing neighborhood preparedness provides the basis for faster and more effective response in emergency situations.

He added: Arak Municipality, in cooperation with specialized agencies and by utilizing the capacities of neighborhood councils, is seeking to create a coherent structure for training, organizing, and involving citizens in crisis management.

Mehdi Aqaziyarti, Arak Municipality’s crisis manager, also referred to the main topics of the meeting and said: The formation and strengthening of crisis management committees in neighborhoods, identifying and organizing volunteer forces, using the capacity of schools, defining the role of specialized agencies in educating citizens, and strengthening the information dissemination system in crisis conditions were among the most important issues raised in this meeting.

Referring to the meeting’s resolutions, he added: It was decided that executive agencies would introduce their liaison representatives to follow up on matters, and in addition to identifying local volunteer forces, the ground would be prepared for holding training courses and supplementary meetings with the officials of neighborhood crisis management committees.

At the end, the Arak Municipality crisis manager emphasized: The goal of this program is to move from a purely agency-centered crisis management approach toward participatory and neighborhood-based crisis management; an approach that, relying on awareness, preparedness, and public participation, increases neighborhoods’ ability to cope with incidents and emergency situations.