In the first session, children watched a short video about climate change and played a game of matching photos and definitions of 20 types of disasters. They then identified the ones related to climate change impacts and established the connection between climate change and different types of disaster. The participants then discussed and chose the most relevant risks for Portugal and for their home city. Debates with the children about the concepts of disaster, risk reduction, climate change impacts and adaptation permeated these activities. At the end of the session, the children were asked to conduct interviews at home, with parents, siblings and neighbours, about recent extreme climate events in Lisbon.

In the second session, children explored the timelines, consequences and intervening agents of the climate events evoked by their parents. The concepts of vulnerability, resilience, prevention and preparedness, response and recuperation were introduced. Based on the information collected, each class chose one type of risk to work on: floods and storms in one case and heat waves in the other. Working in groups, children then came up with actions and measures for risk reduction before, during and after a disaster, in the context of their home, school and community.

In the third session children chose how to communicate their key ideas and actions and created a presentation to convey their messages on risk reduction of floods and heat waves. Two videos, a play, a game, a magazine, and several posters were produced. The children continued improving their communication materials with their teachers and the team then returned to see the result of their work. At the end of this year, the children will present their messages in a school event to their peers, teachers and families.

Following this first set of consultations with the younger children the Portuguese CUIDAR team then went on to conduct consultation workshops with two classes of 9^th grade teenagers in the same school.

In the first session, children watched a short video about climate change and played a game of matching photos and definitions of 20 types of disasters. They then identified the ones related to climate change impacts and established the connection between climate change and different types of disaster. The participants then discussed and chose the most relevant risks for Portugal and for their home city. Debates with the children about the concepts of disaster, risk reduction, climate change impacts and adaptation permeated these activities. At the end of the session, the children were asked to conduct interviews at home, with parents, siblings and neighbours, about recent extreme climate events in Lisbon.

In the second session, children explored the timelines, consequences and intervening agents of the climate events evoked by their parents. The concepts of vulnerability, resilience, prevention and preparedness, response and recuperation were introduced. Based on the information collected, each class chose one type of risk to work on: floods and storms in one case and heat waves in the other. Working in groups, children then came up with actions and measures for risk reduction before, during and after a disaster, in the context of their home, school and community.

In the third session children chose how to communicate their key ideas and actions and created a presentation to convey their messages on risk reduction of floods and heat waves. Two videos, a play, a game, a magazine, and several posters were produced. The children continued improving their communication materials with their teachers and the team then returned to see the result of their work. At the end of this year, the children will present their messages in a school event to their peers, teachers and families.

Following this first set of consultations with the younger children the Portuguese CUIDAR team then went on to conduct consultation workshops with two classes of 9^th grade teenagers in the same school.

In the first session, children watched a short video about climate change and played a game of matching photos and definitions of 20 types of disasters. They then identified the ones related to climate change impacts and established the connection between climate change and different types of disaster. The participants then discussed and chose the most relevant risks for Portugal and for their home city. Debates with the children about the concepts of disaster, risk reduction, climate change impacts and adaptation permeated these activities. At the end of the session, the children were asked to conduct interviews at home, with parents, siblings and neighbours, about recent extreme climate events in Lisbon.

In the second session, children explored the timelines, consequences and intervening agents of the climate events evoked by their parents. The concepts of vulnerability, resilience, prevention and preparedness, response and recuperation were introduced. Based on the information collected, each class chose one type of risk to work on: floods and storms in one case and heat waves in the other. Working in groups, children then came up with actions and measures for risk reduction before, during and after a disaster, in the context of their home, school and community.

In the third session children chose how to communicate their key ideas and actions and created a presentation to convey their messages on risk reduction of floods and heat waves. Two videos, a play, a game, a magazine, and several posters were produced. The children continued improving their communication materials with their teachers and the team then returned to see the result of their work. At the end of this year, the children will present their messages in a school event to their peers, teachers and families.

Following this first set of consultations with the younger children the Portuguese CUIDAR team then went on to conduct consultation workshops with two classes of 9^th grade teenagers in the same school.

In the first session, children watched a short video about climate change and played a game of matching photos and definitions of 20 types of disasters. They then identified the ones related to climate change impacts and established the connection between climate change and different types of disaster. The participants then discussed and chose the most relevant risks for Portugal and for their home city. Debates with the children about the concepts of disaster, risk reduction, climate change impacts and adaptation permeated these activities. At the end of the session, the children were asked to conduct interviews at home, with parents, siblings and neighbours, about recent extreme climate events in Lisbon.

In the second session, children explored the timelines, consequences and intervening agents of the climate events evoked by their parents. The concepts of vulnerability, resilience, prevention and preparedness, response and recuperation were introduced. Based on the information collected, each class chose one type of risk to work on: floods and storms in one case and heat waves in the other. Working in groups, children then came up with actions and measures for risk reduction before, during and after a disaster, in the context of their home, school and community.

In the third session children chose how to communicate their key ideas and actions and created a presentation to convey their messages on risk reduction of floods and heat waves. Two videos, a play, a game, a magazine, and several posters were produced. The children continued improving their communication materials with their teachers and the team then returned to see the result of their work. At the end of this year, the children will present their messages in a school event to their peers, teachers and families.

Following this first set of consultations with the younger children the Portuguese CUIDAR team then went on to conduct consultation workshops with two classes of 9^th grade teenagers in the same school.

Led by colleagues at the Open University of Catalonia, all CUIDAR partners contributed by searching relevant policy and practice reports in members’ countries (Greece, Spain, Italy, UK and Portugal) relating to children’s involvement in disaster management; interviewing key informants and sharing expertise. Additionally we reviewed and updated knowledge about the academic and research based literature, by compiling information and evidence from research projects in the field and by scoping evidence and gaps in scientific literature.

In contrast to systematic reviews, or other literature reviews, scoping reviews are particularly recommended to map existing evidence and literature in fields that, like ours, are large, complex, and diverse and have not been systematically reviewed before. Our review has discovered that children and young people’s participation in disaster management is still a young and emergent field. From 2008 onwards there is a growing global concern about putting children and young people at the heart of disaster management. Among the factors explaining this shift is the influence of the Hyogo (2005) and Sendai (2015) International Frameworks, together with the impact of major disasters in USA, New Zealand and Australia, and the evidence brought forward by important NGOs such as Save the Children and Plan International in developing countries. Although this tendency can also be seen at the European level, particularly in the UK and Italy, there is still a significant variation between the leading countries in this field.

However, this scoping study also reveals signs of change in Europe. This is especially so in the research field, where there are promising projects exploring participatory and creative methods and forms of engagement; expanding research to seldom explored ages, such as very young children and adolescents, and understanding more comprehensively the role of children throughout the different phases of disaster management. The knowledge emerging from these projects, together with the influence of international frameworks and the positive predisposition of practitioners and experts to incorporate children and young people in disaster management may contribute to positioning Europe as a leading area in this field in the mid-term.

Led by colleagues at the Open University of Catalonia, all CUIDAR partners contributed by searching relevant policy and practice reports in members’ countries (Greece, Spain, Italy, UK and Portugal) relating to children’s involvement in disaster management; interviewing key informants and sharing expertise. Additionally we reviewed and updated knowledge about the academic and research based literature, by compiling information and evidence from research projects in the field and by scoping evidence and gaps in scientific literature.

In contrast to systematic reviews, or other literature reviews, scoping reviews are particularly recommended to map existing evidence and literature in fields that, like ours, are large, complex, and diverse and have not been systematically reviewed before. Our review has discovered that children and young people’s participation in disaster management is still a young and emergent field. From 2008 onwards there is a growing global concern about putting children and young people at the heart of disaster management. Among the factors explaining this shift is the influence of the Hyogo (2005) and Sendai (2015) International Frameworks, together with the impact of major disasters in USA, New Zealand and Australia, and the evidence brought forward by important NGOs such as Save the Children and Plan International in developing countries. Although this tendency can also be seen at the European level, particularly in the UK and Italy, there is still a significant variation between the leading countries in this field.

However, this scoping study also reveals signs of change in Europe. This is especially so in the research field, where there are promising projects exploring participatory and creative methods and forms of engagement; expanding research to seldom explored ages, such as very young children and adolescents, and understanding more comprehensively the role of children throughout the different phases of disaster management. The knowledge emerging from these projects, together with the influence of international frameworks and the positive predisposition of practitioners and experts to incorporate children and young people in disaster management may contribute to positioning Europe as a leading area in this field in the mid-term.

Led by colleagues at the Open University of Catalonia, all CUIDAR partners contributed by searching relevant policy and practice reports in members’ countries (Greece, Spain, Italy, UK and Portugal) relating to children’s involvement in disaster management; interviewing key informants and sharing expertise. Additionally we reviewed and updated knowledge about the academic and research based literature, by compiling information and evidence from research projects in the field and by scoping evidence and gaps in scientific literature.

In contrast to systematic reviews, or other literature reviews, scoping reviews are particularly recommended to map existing evidence and literature in fields that, like ours, are large, complex, and diverse and have not been systematically reviewed before. Our review has discovered that children and young people’s participation in disaster management is still a young and emergent field. From 2008 onwards there is a growing global concern about putting children and young people at the heart of disaster management. Among the factors explaining this shift is the influence of the Hyogo (2005) and Sendai (2015) International Frameworks, together with the impact of major disasters in USA, New Zealand and Australia, and the evidence brought forward by important NGOs such as Save the Children and Plan International in developing countries. Although this tendency can also be seen at the European level, particularly in the UK and Italy, there is still a significant variation between the leading countries in this field.

However, this scoping study also reveals signs of change in Europe. This is especially so in the research field, where there are promising projects exploring participatory and creative methods and forms of engagement; expanding research to seldom explored ages, such as very young children and adolescents, and understanding more comprehensively the role of children throughout the different phases of disaster management. The knowledge emerging from these projects, together with the influence of international frameworks and the positive predisposition of practitioners and experts to incorporate children and young people in disaster management may contribute to positioning Europe as a leading area in this field in the mid-term.

A range of fascinating presentations about crisis preparation, risk and resilience can now be downloaded from the TACTIC site. Maggie gave a presentation from the project focusing specifically on creative ways of enabling children to give voice to their experiences. She then mentioned how this project had led to the development of our current Horizon2020 initiative, the Coordination and Support Action CUIDAR. Ironically, the events took place at a time of very heightened tension in Brussels.

Top EA directors find time to engage with a small group of young people who were flooded and want to share their experiences. What’s even more remarkable is how these high level decision makers seem to be taking notice of what these teenagers have called for in their Flood Manifesto for Change.

We’ve heard at this conference about how the EA is exploring the balance between ‘resisting’ floods and flood ‘resilience’.  Measures called for in the address this issue directly.  In we highlight how children and young people can be active in policymaking  – perhaps this is the moment when it all comes together.

Maggie Mort and Marion Walker at the International Conference Centre, Telford, UK

“Unprecedented” has been the mantra of politicians, claiming that flooding such as this is an infrequent occurrence. But tell that to the people in Carlisle who are now flooded out of their homes for the second time in ten years or Cockermouth for the fourth time in ten years. Or to people in Hull where more than 8,000 homes were flooded in 2007. Severe flooding should now be expected.

What’s it really like clearing up after a major flood? In our evidence to the based on our we tried to convey some of what people had told us.

For example, some were unsure what needed to be thrown out:

‘We lost the fridge and the freezer and the cooker in the kitchen but the scary thing was we were actually still using them – nobody condemned them or even suggested that they were contaminated until we moved out. And then they said, “Oh you shouldn’t have been using them”. You find out different things from different people. Just by talking to your neighbours – they’d been told a completely different story to what you’re getting told by the insurance company.’

Uncertainties around insurance become a source of huge anxiety:

‘They say a lot of people didn’t have insurance and now some who are trying to get some have been refused by three different high-risk specialist companies. Those that have claimed can’t seem to get renewals…’

Finding somewhere to live when you are flooded out of your home reveals some of the iniquities of the market, and how people can be exploited in the face of a disaster:

‘I was very relieved to move out of our home so that the drying could start, but I’m convinced that our insurance company and ourselves are being ripped off, being charged £850 a month for it. Prior to the floods, there’s no way they’d have got that amount of rent.’

In fact project managing the recovery takes over everything:

‘Left another message [with loss adjustor] – no response. If he would just call me back, it’s so frustrating. This seems to be taking up my whole life – god, what did I do before the flood?’

What our work on the floods in Hull showed was that no one talked to the . In our we’re working with a group of children in South Ferriby (Humberside) who were flooded on December 5 2013 during the storm surge of that winter, exactly two years ago to the day from Storm Desmond. These children and another group from Staines-Upon-Thames (severely flooded in February 2014) have made a and produced Flood Manifestos for Change.

These manifestos call for further measures to such as lessons in school about flooding and other emergencies; teachers to be trained about floods and how they affect people; groups set up for children affected so they can talk and get support; insurance companies to listen more to what children and families need; clearer flood warnings that people can understand and better flood defences with more building on stilts.

Because they’ve survived floods (at considerable cost) these children can cut through bureaucracy. Such multiple measures are needed to help prevent, prepare and recover from floods.  It’s widely accepted that in the UK flood emergency response itself is effective and caring, but we also know that recovery is long, complex and does not follow in a linear path (). We know that what matters to people now is how they are treated by agencies and organisations; how they can look after their health; how they can find support from people who understand and, a little later, how they can participate in resilience work so that they do not fall prey to fatalism and depression.

‘You feel like you’ve lost a year of your life’ (Male student, 14, Staines-Upon-Thames)