Convivere coi Rischi Naturali, Living with Natural Risks (CON.I.RI.): A Way to Act on Behaviors vs Seismic and Water-related Disaster Risk Reduction at School

Abstract

Citizens’ proper response and responsible behaviour is crucial to cope with natural hazards. CON.I.RI. (Convivere con i Rischi Naturali - Living with Natural Risks) is an educational path on seismic and hydrogeological risk reduction by Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia (INGV) within the FCR (Future Responsible Citizens) and FCR 2.0 environmental educational projects. The on-going educational initiative was designed and started online during the COVID-19 pandemic to engage classrooms of all order schools of Sicilia region in distance learning. The main challenge is favoring the school-based disaster preparedness, as well as the difference in lifesaving skills in case of earthquake, tsunami, flood and landslides. The natural risk mitigation approach is based on full engagement of students in activities able to create skills for life in risk understanding to trigger transfomative learning. About 300 students were involved in the first year (2020-2021), 2200 students in the second year (2021-2022), more than 4500 ones in the third year (2022-2023) and about 4000 students in the forth year (2023-2024) and in the fifth year (2024-2025) of activities. The crucial phase to prevent damage is focused on reflecting with researcher on natural and human-made disasters on the environment. A simultaneous online race between all classes closes the educational program in an amusing cooperative way to develop lifesaving skills playing thematic digital serious games on safe behavior.