Kathmandu Living Labs held a three-day workshop in Pokhara on open data for disaster resilience. The workshop was the beginning of the Secondary Cities Project, a project to develop disaster resilience in secondary cities. The project in Pokhara is in cooperation with the American Association of Geographers and the United States Department of State.

Secondary cities around the world are growing rapidly, and that rapid development puts residents at greater risk of natural disasters. Prepare Pokhara is an effort by KLL and the U.S. Embassy to create datasets and compile information that will help disaster preparedness.

The workshop brought together people from all walks of life in Pokhara to share their thoughts on disaster preparation. Participants came from the municipal government, from youth organizations, and from police and military. They brought a wide range of experiences and opinions to the workshop.

The program of the workshop included talks by those involved in relief after last year’s earthquake, training sessions on OpenStreetMap, and a simulation of operating QuakeMap. One of the main objectives of the workshop was for the participants to have a clearer idea on how to move disaster preparedness forward in Pokhara.