Caritas India’s film on community early warning won the second-best short film award at the 3rd session of the National Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction (NPDRR) 2023 organised at Vigyan Bhavan, New Delhi by the Government of India on March 11, 2023.

The award was received by Fr. (Dr.) Paul Moonjely, the Executive Director of Caritas India, by Dr. P.K. Mishra, Principal Secretary to the Prime Minister of India; Shri Nityanand Rai, Minister of State for Home Affairs of India; Shri Ajay Kumar Bhalla, Home Secretary, Ministry of Home Affairs of India; Shri Kamal Kishore, Member & Secretary (I/C) NDMA; Atul Karwal, Director General, NDRF; Shri Hitesh Kumar Makwana, Additional Secretary, Department of Home, Ministry of Home Affairs; and Shri Sanjeev Kumar Jindal, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Home Affairs.

The award that was presented during the valedictory session includes prize money of Rs. 3 lahks and a letter of accreditation from the Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India.

Caritas India’s Udaan, the community-based early warning film, highlighted the disaster resilience efforts of the Disaster Risk Reduction Committee members to establish their own early warning system in the Supaul District of Bihar. The area is prone to perennial floods, and the community was tormented by this annual suffering. The community-based early warning system was established by the community as a contingency plan to safeguard against unprecedented floods. It is completely owned and managed by the community.

The film was envisioned under the Caritas India Global Programme working for poverty reduction and food security, promoting social inclusion of particularly marginalised groups and increasing resilience to disasters in high-risk areas of Bihar, Assam, Odisha and West Bengal.

The 3rd session of NPDRR 2023 organized this short film competition under “Inspired Change Through Lens” banner, to showcase awareness generation and case studies on various nuances of disaster management.