DRN Joins Executive Leadership Group in Post-tsunami Site Visit

As members of the Tsunami Recovery Business Task Force, Robert Bellhouse and Bob Loeb of the Disaster Resource Network will travel to India, Sri Lanka and Thailand on August 29th for a week of intensive site visits and discussions about the role of business in post- tsunami recovery activities.

Under the aegis of the International Business Leaders Forum (IBLF), the 15-member Task Force will meet with a variety of key people - social entrepreneurs, the representatives of national and international NGOs and government officials - whose direct involvement in operations on the ground will lend insight into the role business can play as strategic partner in achieving economic recovery -- one that is sustainable and mitigates against future losses in a region so prone to natural disasters.

Task Force members will travel in two teams, one to Tamil Nadu, India and the other to Phufet Island in Thailand. The teams will convene in Sri Lanka for the final leg of the visit. Local advisors, including AidIndia, the Taj Group, Adopt Sri Lanka, the International Tourism Partnership and IBLF's Phufet Recovery Initiative have arranged for the teams to visit recovery projects in the fishing, housing and tourism sectors, among others.

In mid-September, the Task Force will issue a report and share their findings in a series of meetings to be held in Europe, Asia and the U.S. Through these meetings the IBLF hopes to give the wider international business community an opportunity to examine lessons learned about cross-sector collaborations, effective partnerships and the requirements for long-term recovery.

The initiative will be led by Michael Garrett, Chairman Nestlé India and Robert Davies, the CEO of the International Business Leaders Forum. For more information about the Task Force and its purpose, visit www.iblf.org or contact Camilla Saunders, International Business Leaders Forum, Task Force Communications at +44 771 182 3028 or the Task Force Coordinator at Anisha.Jhina@iblf.org.