Third Understanding Risk Forum brings together almost 1,000 participants to highlight new activities and initiatives in disaster risk management

10 July, 2014, Brussels - The third Understanding Risk (UR) Forum was held on June 30 - July 4, 2014 in London, UK, with support from the ACP-EU NDRR Programme, in partnership with University College London (UCL) and the Willis Group. UR is a growing global community of over 3000 experts and practitioners in the field of disaster risk assessment. Every two years, the Global Facility for Disaster Reduction and Recovery (GFDRR) convenes a variety of public, private and civil society partners at the UR Forum—a five-day event designed to showcase best practices and the latest technical advances in disaster risk management.

The London Forum featured 24 technical sessions, with over 100 speakers, and almost 1,000 participants from government, international organisations, finance, industry, civil society and academia. The Forum provided a platform to highlight new activities and initiatives, build partnerships, and foster further advances in the field of disaster risk management, particularly risk assessments around the theme “Producing Actionable Information”. The ACP-EU NDRR Programme supported the participation of Government representatives from Caribbean and Pacific countries, including the Minister of Land and Natural Resources of Vanuatu, Mr. Ralph Regenvanu, and senior officials of Madagascar, Tonga, the Solomon and Grenada islands.

Speakers at the plenary events included among others the EU Commissioner for Humanitarian Affairs and International Cooperation Kristalina Georgieva, World Bank Group Vice President and Special Envoy for Climate Change Rachel Kyte, the Director of the Earth Institute of Columbia University, New York, Jeffrey Sachs, Mayor of Cape Town, Patricia De Lille, and the United Nations Development Programme Administrator Helen Clark. The 2014 UR Forum builds on the success of the 2010 UR Forum which took place in Washington DC and the 2012 UR Place which was held in Cape Town.

A national UR Forum will be hosted in Haiti on 17 July, 2014, where local and international stakeholders will share knowledge and experience and build partnerships for strenghtening Haiti’s resilience. The program and list of speakers is included on the UR Community website at: www.understandrisk.org.