The DSWD Field Office – NCR recently held the first SWAD forum for the first semester entitled “Paghahanda sa 7.2 m Lindol sa NCR: A Magnitude of Conversations.” The forum assessed the preparedness of the Field Office to handle a 7.2 magnitude earthquake through the experiences gathered from the disaster response to typhoon Yolanda.

The said forum was used as a new method of data gathering called “the art of hosting.” It is a technique where there is no resource person to discuss a specific topic. Instead, the “host” culls out all the necessary information from the participants using conversational means.

To begin this method, it is very important for the host to have a set of powerful questions or those that are answerable by procedures and reason. During the discussion, the host may ask questions answerable either by facts or information. Using this method, there are overarching intentions instead of objectives, which is more of an informal kind of symposium.

The forum was attended by 74 participants, such as division chiefs, heads of centers and residential care facilities, and other staff from the units and sections of the Field Office. It was a first in many aspects, that for one, it was the first time the art of hosting method was used by the region as a means to gather data. Another first – it was the first time that disaster response was discussed as a main topic in a SWAD forum. ###