International Disaster Resilience Leaders Forum Incheon 2026 (IDRLF2026) - Translating Locally-led Resilience into Action in the Age of Complex Risk and Digital Transformation

Overview

Since 2022, Incheon Metropolitan City, a recognized Resilience Hub under the Making Cities Resilient 2030 (MCR2030) initiative, has hosted the International Disaster Resilience Leaders Forum (IDRLF) as an annual platform to exchange practical solutions and lessons for building local and urban resilience in the face of growing disaster and climate risks. Co-organized with the Incheon Institute, the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR) Office for Northeast Asia and Global Education and Training Institute (ONEA & GETI), with the support of the Ministry of the Interior and Safety (MOIS) of the Republic of Korea, and in partnership with the Trilateral Cooperation Secretariat (TCS), the Forum brings together local leaders, national government officials, technical experts, and international organizations from Northeast and Southeast Asia and beyond.

Previous editions of the Forum highlighted the increasing exposure of cities to complex and interconnected risks, while also recognizing their role as engines of innovation and hubs of collaborative governance. IDRLF 2025 in particular demonstrated how international cooperation, financing, and multilevel partnerships can advance the implementation of disaster risk reduction (DRR) strategies at the local level, while underlying the significance of all-of-society approaches and capacity development as foundational pillars of resilience-building. 

The 2026 edition of the Forum, which marks the 5th anniversary of this annual flagship event, will be held under the theme “Translating Locally-led Resilience into Action in the Age of Complex Risk and Digital Transformation.” IDRLF 2026 will focus on how disaster risk reduction can be effectively implemented at the local level in an increasingly complex and rapidly developing risk landscape. With the final five-year window of the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction (2015–2030) underway, the Forum offers a timely opportunity to move beyond commitments and translate locally-led resilience into tangible action.

This focus reflects an increasing global recognition that, despite progress in developing national and local DRR strategies, significant gaps exist in their implementation, especially at the local level. The 2023 Midterm Review (MTR) of the Sendai Framework emphasized persistent challenges in disaster risk governance, financing, and capacity at the local level, and called for active support to local authorities in operationalizing DRR strategies and in bridging the gap between policy and practice. 

At the same time, outcomes of the 8th Global Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction 2025 (GP2025), including the Geneva Call for Disaster Risk Reduction, highlighted the critical need to localize DRR efforts, scale up risk-informed investments, and leverage transformative technologies to solve systemic and compound risks.  These priorities are further supported in the UNDRR Strategic Framework 2026–2030, which identifies the locally-led DRR, risk knowledge, financing, and recovery readiness as important areas for advancing resilience and guaranteeing that risk reduction efforts translate into measurable impact on the ground. 

Building on this, the IDRLF 2026 aims to explore practical pathways to reinforce the implementation of DRR at the local level, including through the use of rising technologies such as artificial intelligence for disaster prevention and management; promoting risk-informed investments to support local resilience; enhancing recovery readiness and infrastructure resilience through forward-looking and participatory approaches; strengthening the science-policy interface to support evidence-based decision making; and sharing best practices from cities to facilitate peer learning and replication.

Through practical examples and experience sharing from countries and cities around the world, IDRLF 2026 seeks to demonstrate that disaster risk reduction is a shared responsibility, and that while resilience-building must be locally led, it requires sutained support from national, regional, and global levels. Strengthening linkages between local action and broader policy frameworks, while making collaboration across governments, academia, the private sector, and communities will be crucial to addressing complex and systemic risks and advancing sustainable development outcomes.

In addition, one of the core enabling factors for translating resilience into action is the availability and accessibility of financing. As emphasized in recent global discussions on disaster risk reduction financing,  insufficient and inflexible funding represents a major obstacle to the effective implementation of local DRR strategies. In this regard, IDRLF 2026 will also explore how innovative financing mechanisms, strengthened public-private partnerships, and risk-informed investment approaches can better support locally-led resilience efforts and assist scaled up action on the ground.

The two-day Forum will feature a series of thematic and networking sessions designed to facilitate experience sharing on successful international cooperation initiatives and effective local action for DRR. Participants will also be invited to join a tour of the Incheon Free Economic Zone (IFEZ) organized by the Incheon Tourism Organization and explore the city’s highlights.

The International Disaster Resilience Leaders Forum Incheon 2026 is organized by Incheon Metropolitan City, the Incheon Institute and the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (Office for Northeast Asia and Global Education and Training Institute) on 7 and 8 September 2026, in Incheon, Republic of Korea, with the support of the Ministry of the Interior and Safety and in cooperation with the Trilateral Cooperation Secretariat.
 

About Organizers

The Ministry of the Interior and Safety (MOIS) is responsible for general affairs of the State Council, including the promulgation of Acts, subordinate statutes, and treaties, as well as the management of government organization and the authorized number of public officials. It also leads government innovation by enhancing administrative efficiency and advancing e-government, while overseeing personal information protection, government facilities, and support for elections and referendums. Furthermore, MOIS promotes local autonomy and decentralization by supporting the finance, taxation, and administrative operations of local governments and mediating intergovernmental disputes. In addition, MOIS supervises and coordinates disaster management and safety policies, overseeing the full cycle of disaster risk management, including prevention, preparedness, response, and recovery. Its key functions include natural disaster-prone area management, emergency operation planning and national disaster preparedness training, declaration of national and special disaster areas, inspection, as well as civil defense and crisis management.

Incheon Metropolitan City is the third-largest city in the Republic of Korea, with an international airport and harbor. The city has 168 islands and an area of 707.64 km, with a population of approximately 3 million people. The administrative units consist of 2 counties and 8 districts. The city’s budget for 2026 is KRW 15.325 trillion (USD 10.3 billion),  of which around 4% is dedicated to disaster prevention. Incheon is Korea's first smart city to manage disasters, traffic, crimes, fires, and environmental pollution 24 hours a day through CCTV and IOT sensors installed throughout the city. Incheon has hosted International Organizations such as the World Bank, the Green Climate Fund, and the United Nations. Incheon invited UNDRR to Songdo and established UNDRR ONEA & GETI in 2010. Incheon Metropolitan City was recognized as an MCR2030 Resilience Hub in 2021 based on its continuous contribution and commitment to international cooperation for disaster risk reduction and urban resilience.

The Incheon Institute conducts systematic and reality-based research, as well as being responsible for carrying out surveys and analyses on various tasks and general issues regarding Incheon Metropolitan City, all in the pursuit of helping the city establish and implement regional policies.The Incheon Institute conducts surveys and research projects to inform mid- and long-term development plans, as well as to identify major current issues affecting the city government administration. The Incheon Institute also carries out research projects entrusted by governments, government-invested agencies, and private organizations and engages in exchanges and cooperation with research institutes both at home and abroad.

UNDRR Global Education and Training Institute (UNDRR GETI) was established in 2010 to develop a new cadre of professionals in disaster risk reduction and climate change adaptation to build disaster resilient societies. ONEA & GETI also hosts the Global Secretariat for the Making Cities Resilient 2030 (MCR2030). UNDRR Office for Northeast Asia (ONEA) supports five countries: the Republic of Korea, China, Japan, Mongolia, and DPR Korea, specifically to reduce disaster loss and risk and to ensure implementation of the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015-2030. The Global Education and Training Institute (GETI) has a global mandate to provide capacity building support to mainstream disaster risk reduction and climate change adaptation into sustainable development; convene and support inter-city learning to strengthen resilience (Making Cities Resilient); and to provide capacity building and best practice sharing support to national training institutions working on resilience issues.

Making Cities Resilient 2030 (MCR2030) is a long-term global partnership that supports urban areas to be more inclusive, safe, resilient, and sustainable. It accelerates progress against Sustainable Development Goal 11 as well as other global frameworks, including the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction, the Paris Agreement, and the New Urban Agenda. It aims to leave no city behind. MCR2030 is focused on implementation and action to reduce disaster and climate risk. It helps cities to develop their own vision of disaster resilience and progress towards this via a clear 3-stage roadmap. Along this journey, MCR2030 provides access to tools, knowledge, networks, services, and resources to support cities in strengthening their resilience. 
MCR2030 was launched by the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR) as a global collaboration that now has 11 core partners, the others being: Asian Development Bank (ADB); ICLEI - Local Governments for Sustainability; International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC); Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA); Resilient Cities Network; United Cities and Local Governments (UCLG); United Nations Development Programme (UNDP); United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-HABITAT); The World Bank; and the World Council on City Data (WCCD).

The Trilateral Cooperation Secretariat (TCS) is an international organization established in 2011 with a vision to promote peace, common prosperity, and shared culture among the People’s Republic of China, Japan, and the Republic of Korea.