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Digital resilience: Technology and tools for local disaster risk reduction

Organizer(s) United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction - Regional Office for Europe & Central Asia European Committee of the Regions ICLEI - Local Governments for Sustainability

European Commission

Event language(s)

English

Date

12 October 2022

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Time

2:30 - 4:00 p.m. (GMT+2)

About

The session Digital Resilience: Technology and tools for local disaster risk reduction is co-organized by the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR), within the framework of its flagship initiative, Making Cities Resilient 2030, ICLEI, and the European Committee of the Regions' Commission for Natural Resources (NAT). Convening a wide range of stakeholders at local, regional, national and global level, this session will discuss the importance of robust and interconnected digital systems in tackling disaster risk at the local level and providing ideas for better community involvement in building stronger and more resilient cities and regions. It will also look at how technology is being used to generate social cohesion and participation, as well as to connect cities through learning experiences.

There is a very strong digitalisation agenda underway in Europe, and digital transformation and disaster resilience are closely linked. Robust means of communication, such as early warning and real-time alert systems, functioning both across borders and across levels of government, are vital to alert the inhabitants of a given area in time and coordinate respective actions in order to prevent and mitigate the impacts of and facilitate the response to disasters. The July 2021 floods in Western Europe exposed how unprepared European countries are to respond to extreme events of this scale and showed that even in countries considered advanced in technology, the disruption caused by a disaster can compromise basic communication between agencies, making it harder to respond in time and save more lives.

At the same time, digitalisation also brings to the fore the growing interconnectedness and interdependencies of our systems, in which the internet and cyberspace have become central elements, offering opportunities and solutions while at times also increasing the risk of emerging man-made disasters.

Yet, digital resilience is and remains all about our societies. This session will look at how technology is being used to generate social cohesion and participation, as well as to connect cities through learning experiences. Local resilience practitioners from all over Europe will present their experiences in developing local DRR plans for smarter and more resilient cities.

The session is very timely taking place ahead of the International Day for Disaster Risk Reduction on 13 October and considering that digital resilience is high on the European agenda. Furthermore, it coincides with the thematic semester of the UNDRR Making Cities Resilient 2030 initiative which is dedicated to digital transformation.

Source

https://eu.app.swapcard.com/event/euregionsweek-2022