The meeting was started by Wayne Macdonald (Chair) who welcomed everyone and noted that this meeting is unique because: ♦ It is the first ALNAP meeting to be held, outside of London, Geneva and Washington (where previous meetings were held). ♦ The meeting is hosted by the Disaster Mitigation Institute (DMI). ♦ Many participants are from the region (India, Bangladesh, Philippines and Thailand). ♦ There is a mixture of donors, UN organisations, NGOs, other networks, research academics and other consultants. ♦ Wayne noted the continuing value of the membership coming together to dialogue in an informal setting around important humanitarian issues and also the members continuing commitment to make ALNAP work well. He also acknowledged the effort put into the preparation for this meeting by both the Disaster Mitigation Institute as well as the ALNAP Secretariat.