Program

In an increasingly interconnected world, COVID-19 has strongly emphasized the systemic nature of risks. As we feel the impacts on lives and wellbeing across borders we also have to think about recovery. In this session we want to learn from the extended impacts and especially the recovery efforts from the COVID-19 pandemic.

In an increasingly interconnected world, COVID-19 and the ongoing war in Ukraine have strongly emphasized the systemic nature of risks. At the same time, the effects of climate change are increasingly felt across sectors, systems, and borders, affecting societies as a whole. As we feel the impacts on lives and wellbeing we also have to think about recovery. Recovery from disasters is an inherently prolonged and uneven process. Yet, across the world, recovery is typically a lower-priority aspect of disaster management. Improvements in emergency preparedness plans are seldom matched by coherent, multi-sectoral recovery plans.

As communities recover, their will may be to rebuild without learning from the disaster. At the same time, the recovery process holds promise to regain strength, learn, adapt and even transform to reduce future risks. In other words, to ‘Build-Back-Better’, one of the priorities of the United Nations’ Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction.

In this session we want to learn from the extended impacts and especially the recovery efforts from the COVID-19 pandemic. How can the post-extreme event recovery period be seen as an opportunity to learn and anticipate future extreme events? And what is the role of the disaster risk management community in recovery? 

Speaker
Angel Alberto Valdiviezo Ajila

Ayu Ketut Surtiari Gusti

Sumana Banerjee

Michael Hagenlocher
United Nations University, Institute for Environment and Human Security

Saskia Werners
United Nations University, Institute for Environment and Human Security

Data can support cooperation for prevention and preparedness to natural risks at borders. The workshop focuses on how conflicts can affect data/information exchange and sharing between countries/actors in DRR.

Our main objectives are:

the sharing of experience between the attendees on the challenges inherent to information management between countries
transfer and discussion of scholar knowledge (relevant theories and analysis grid) on information management for DRR between countries
Identify the nature of data and information available and/or needed before a disaster in order to better anticipate risks. Identify the challenges inherent to their production and sharing.
to analyze how the complexity of interactions between national institutions, private organizations, civil society (such as matters of tensions between countries, such as frontiers, conflicts, climate change) affects collaboration for DRR

This reflection will feed our already initiated joint research study about data management and ecosystems for DRR at borders. To reach our objective, this workshop relies on the synergies within our practitioner-scholar collaboration.

Target groups

• Decision makers (European, national, local and cross border)
• Civil protection agencies
• First responders
• Volunteer based organizations
• Researchers, scientific institutes and academia
• Private sector (insurances companies)

• Country A and country B sharing border, with stable political and diplomatic contexts, prone to same natural risks. For example, France and Italy, already investigated in our project.
• Country C and D sharing border, political and diplomatic tensions. For example, between Ethiopia and Sudan
• Country E and F not sharing borders but facing political and diplomatic tensions. For instance, between Ukraine and Hungry.

DRR/DRM programming in FCV contexts needs to adapt and tie-on policy and research to address natural and man-made hazards. This workshop aims to address the implementation gap with discussions around policy, research, and practice.

Fragility needs to be an integral part of the programming on Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) and Disaster Risk Management (DRM). Disasters are complex and often caused by both natural and man-made hazards. Disasters happen in the context of compound risks arising from conflict and lack of resilience of the most vulnerable population. They have a more severe impact on those living in contexts affected by fragility, conflict and violence (FCV) due to their increased vulnerability. We know that DRR/DRM measures can both exacerbate fragility and conflict or enhance social cohesion and connectedness. As a minimum standard it is important that measures are designed in a conflict-sensitive way. Even more so that without addressing the underlying drivers of vulnerability and fragility, complex crises cannot be solved nor can development gains be secured. Building on discussions in international fora like the GPDRR, the World Bank Fragility Forum and SIPRI Peacebuilding Conference, this workshop focuses on how to better operationalize DRR and DRM in FCV contexts throughout the disaster cycle while considering risk drivers like climate change, population growth, urbanization, and weak governance.

This workshop enables the discussion between DRM experts - from practitioners to donor representatives and researchers - through a variety of interactive tools. The outcomes of the workshop will result in key messages for the Sendai Mid-Term Review and the importance of including DRM in FCV contexts in discussions and exchanges in the further implementation of the SFDRR.

The workshop discussion will be guided along inputs from the policy, research and practice angle with three related ignites and in-depth exchange in break-out groups. To close the session, we will host a panel in which three selected participants can share their reflections and ways forward to increase the uptake of the topic in light of today’s complex crisis.”

Further information:

1. ODI's research on "When Disasters and Conflict collide"
2. ISS’ research “when disaster meets conflict”
3. UNDRR publication “Scaling up disaster risk reduction in humanitarian action” 
4. ODI’s publication on “Risk-informed development - from crisis to resilience” (2019) and "Climate change, conflict and displacement: five key misconceptions" (2022)

The workshop will present (inter)national examples of wild fire prevention and control from the perspectives of practice and science. Links to other areas of disaster risk management will also be highlighted.

As with other natural hazards, the probability of wildfires is increasing in the wake of the climate crisis. With this workshop, the Bonn Network International Civil Protection and Disaster Risk Reduction would like to look at the manifold connections of this topic to other areas of disaster management. The aim is to provide perspectives on the prevention and control of vegetation fires in the context of these cascading hazards. The focus will not only be on Germany, developments from other countries will also be presented. Through the different perspectives of the network from practice, science and administration, the topic will be examined from different angles. The workshop is aimed both at experts in the field and at interested parties from other areas of disaster risk management. 

Speaker
Prof. Dr. Johann Georg Goldammer
Global Fire Monitoring Center (GFMC), Max Planck Institute for Chemistry and Freiburg University
Director

Jochen Stein
City of Bonn Fire and Rescue Service
Chief Fire Officer

Anke Moon
Federal Office for Civil Protection and Disaster Assistance
Head of International Affairs

Marcus Hinz
City of Bonn Fire and Rescue Service
Assistant Chief Fire Officer

In times of complex, compounded crises, civil protection is particularly challenged - to improve its own resilience and to effectively strengthen societal resilience. The workshop of Forum Public Safety and Security (ZOES) is intended to provide suggestions for this.

People must know that the state is doing a lot to protect them. But there are also limits, and it is not possible without each and every individual doing their part. Prevention, self-help and mutual support take place locally, and the local authorities are in direct contact with the citizens. This is the aim of this workshop to strengthen social resilience.

While the past few years have been characterized by a succession of various crises, such as the financial market crisis, the refugee situation or the corona pandemic, we are currently feeling the simultaneity and mutual reinforcement of war, the energy market crisis, climate change and the ongoing pandemic. The population, the economy and state institutions are equally required to improve the various levels of precaution (prevention, protection, preparation) as well as the skills for crisis management and reconstruction. This then results in a strengthened resilience of society as a whole.

This workshop covers practical aspects that are of particular importance for civil protection organizations and are intended to stimulate action.

• Basic considerations on the resilience of society as a whole and suggestions for the actors
• What can communities, German Länder and federal government do to improve resilience?
• What can locally rooted organizations contribute? How do we deal with spontaneous helpers?
• Where can emergency medical care be reformed in such a way that the focus is on the patient?
• How can the people be better reached and involved in crisis management?

The Future Forum Public Security e. V. connects members of the German Bundestag, personalities from ministries and federal authorities, companies in critical infrastructure, aid organizations, associations and science, who jointly develop strategies for public security. 

Speaker
Sönke Jacobs
Forum Public Safety and Security
Managing Director

Albrecht Broemme
Forum Public Safety and Security
Chairman of the Board

Daniel Kurth
Landkreis Barnim
District Administrator

Kevin Grigorian
Johanniter-Unfall-Hilfe e.V.
Head of Rescue & Medical Services Division

Need to beat the heat? When dealing with heatwaves, find out what corner stones we have at our hands in advance of and during these ‘silent killers’.

Heat events and heatwaves are known as ‘silent killers’ and in a changing climate expected to become more frequent and severe all over the world. Prominent heatwaves, such as in Europe in 2003 or in South Asia in 2018, have initiated people and countries to prepare for heatwaves. However, recent heatwaves in 2021 and 2022 on both continents showed record temperatures and have revealed varying progress in such preparedness.

This session aims to present that many of the corner stones of reducing the impacts from heatwaves are already in place and can be linked. Such corner stones may include weather and impact forecasts, experiences of pre-defined activities before and during a heatwave as well linking those in an action plan.

The session will start off with input from the forecast (weather and impact) perspective from the German Weather Service, followed by practical interventions by French and German Red Cross before and during heatwaves in France and Kyrgyzstan, topped off by experience on developing a heat action plan from Cologne fire department and University of Bonn.

Key speakers will discuss the following questions:

• What are the similarities in heatwave risk analysis and in action between different cities in practice?
• What are the challenges for city governments in developing and implementing a heat action plan?
• How can measures be initiated in anticipation of (combined with a forecast) and in response to heatwaves?

Building on this year's Global Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction (GPDRR), we would like to take a closer look at the implementation status of those commitments of the Sendai Framework that specifically address vulnerable groups. By doing so, we would like to focus on the situation in Germany and discuss where Germany stands in this regard and which gaps remain.

Building on this year's Global Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction (GPDRR), we would like to take a closer look at the implementation status of those commitments of the Sendai Framework that specifically address vulnerable groups. By doing so, we would like to focus on the situation in Germany and discuss where Germany stands in this regard and which gaps remain.

The primary goal of the workshop will be the transfer of knowledge and the exchange between different actors on the topic. At the same time, the workshop should stimulate an increased exchange between the global North and the global South.

The first part of the workshop will be formed by four inputs:

• Sendai Mid-Term Review 2022: Where do we stand (globally and in Germany) with the implementation of the corresponding Sendai Commitments on disability inclusion?
• Practical example from Indonesia: Disability Inclusion in DRR Programming in Indonesia
• Practical example from Bangladesh: Using data on disability to inform Inclusive DRR Programming
• Progress and challenges at the state level using the example of the state of Berlin

The Workshop gives an overview over the Austrian-German research project AIFER. AIFER develops Artificial Intelligence to automatically extract and merge information from satellites, aerial images, data from drones and geo-social media.

The AIFER project develops an Artificial Intelligence based system to detect and evaluate the situation in the example of a flood scenario. New Big Data analysis methods for earth observation data (satellite and aerial imagery) and data from social media are explored. The resulting information layers are merged to support situational awareness and assessment in the highest possible spatial-temporal resolution. Ethical, sociological, and legal issues are also considered and incorporated into the project development. With readily available and accurate data, responders can better protect people and critical infrastructure.

The workshop will have the use of artificial intelligence for emergency response as its topic.
Requirements and needs of first responder organisations after extreme weather events are shown using the floodings of the river Ahr as an example. Based on this, current developments in the field of crisis mapping are presented. This includes a 3D-Web interface by DLR/ZKI and a demonstration of the combination of earth observation data, geo – social media and further geodata in the Cadenza software by Disy.

Speaker
Uwe Kippnich
Bavarian Red Cross
Coordinator Security Research 

Marc Wieland
German Aerospace Center
Senior Researcher

Luisa Knoche
Federal Agency for Technical Relief
Research Associate

Jonas Mehrl
Bavarian Red Cross
Project team member

Sebastian Schmidt
Paris-Lodron-University-Salzburg         
Researcher

Marc Schmidtobreick
Disy
Advisor

Carolin Gilga
University of Kassel
Research Associate/ PhD Candidate 

Building on the recent experience of the RESILOC project (EC, H2020), the workshop will involve experts and stakeholders for DRR in debates around participatory approaches towards building local resilience strategies within a multi-level governance perspective.

The Workshop will provide an option for experts in DRR and other relevant stakeholders to understand and discuss methods of assessing and increasing local resilience against natural disasters. The focus will be developing local resilience strategies within a multi-level governance perspective. Core elements will be:

• From community resilience assessments to local resilience strategies: applicability of the RESILOC Tools.
• Engagement of Citizens and co-production of local strategies: the Local Resilience Teams (LRTs).
• Recommendations on strategic planning for resilience in a multi-level governance perspective.

In this workshop, we will discuss ways to make disaster preparedness more inclusive and effective, drawing on research on the diverse experiences of people affected by 2021 summer floods.

In the first part of the workshop, we will share the results of an ongoing research project about evacuation information and people’s behavior and motivation during the 2021 summer floods in Limburg, the Netherlands. The research is based on qualitative interviews conducted with people in the area and focuses on factors that determined their diverse experiences and their ability and/or willingness to evacuate.

In the second part of the workshop, we will discuss what these finding imply for the practice to improve disaster preparedness (warning and response) and make it more inclusive and effective. We would also like to compare the findings from the Netherlands with the experiences with the flood event in Germany and Belgium, as well as experiences with the COVID-19 pandemic. This part of the workshop is interactive, so we would like the participants to share their experiences in the discussion.


The target audience of the workshop is emergency managers and responders as well as policy makers with a technical (flood risk) and/or social background. We aim for a diverse audience to integrate various fields of research and practice.


Speaker
Michelle Rudolph
HKV
Expert Flood Risk and Gender

Daniela Rodriguez Castro
Univerisy of Liège
PhD Candidate

Solène Roucour
University of Liège
MSc Research Engineer

How can urban resilience be measured, how can it be increased and how can we set organisations and communities on a track to achieve it? Come and learn from successful examples in Indonesia and Pakistan.

Objective: Exchange on successful adaptations of tools to the urban context.

1. How can resilience be measured? Looking at Magelang, Indonesia. Which lessons has the Bintari-led analysis created? What was learned on the adaptation and application of tools for measuring resilience?
2. How can resilience be increased? Looking at Karachi, Pakistan. What can be learned from PRCS’s pilot-application of the Urban Action Kit in Karachi?
3. How can urban resilience and capacity be charted out. Looking at the successful urban compass by the IFRC/GRC, one approach to support local implementers is featured.
4.  How can technology be used to increase resilience? We will have an insightful look at the DEEP tool.

Risk cultures encompass how societies and groups perceive and deal with risks. Risk cultures differ by region and country, therefore exchanging ideas can foster positive risk cultures. The workshop compares international perspectives and initiate mutual learning.

Risk cultures encompass how societies and groups perceive and deal with risks. Risk cultures differ by region and country, therefore exchanging ideas can help to better under-stand one's own risk culture and to learn from each other to reach a progressive risk culture which favours prevention, as risks can be actively addressed. An important part is thereby, risk communication playing a central role in risk perception and can strengthen a positive risk culture. The workshop will present and compare international perspectives on the topic of risk culture and initiate mutual learning.

The French Association for Natural Disaster Risk Reduction - Natural and Technological (AFPCNT) and the German Committee for Disaster Reduction e. V. (DKKV) maintain an on-going collaboration and have carried out joint efforts to leverage various cooperation activ-ities and exchanges on good practices between their members, as parts of the civil society segments of their respective National Platforms for Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR). Based on the successful WebTalks of AFPCNT and DKKV this format will now explore different risk cultures to strengthen cooperation links and the exchange of expertise and best-practices across the world.

The workshop is targeted to a broad range of actors from science, politics, and civil socie-ty because positive/progressive risk cultures require a holistic approach. Central for the workshop is the discussion with the audience after the short input speeches by the panelists.

Speaker
Ronja Winkhardt-Enz
German Committee for Disaster Reduction
Research Associate

Reimund Schwarze
Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research − UFZ
Head of the Department of Climate Economics at UFZ

Irina Rafliana
German Institute of Development and Sustainability & University of Bonn
PhD Researcher/ Research Associate

Roland Nussbaum
French Association for Disaster Risk Reduction – Natural and Technological (AFPCNT)
Member of the Bureau

Sophie Guibault
Institute for Catastrophic Loss Reduction
Director of Partnerships 

The Princess Margriet Fund of the Netherlands Red Cross is developing a major programme to strengthen the resilience of selected communities in the Nile River basin in a number of countries. For Sudan the contents is furthest developed, whereas for Egypt and Ethiopia engagement is being set-up. At a later stage engagement of South Sudan and Uganda is foreseen. The approach will revolve around Nature-based Solutions, where restoring and preserving ecosystems will go hand-in-hand with improving safety and health of communities, and enhancing economic opportunities.

The session will be used to present the programme aims and approach, and receive feedback that will help us in the further shaping of it. It may also lead to an exploration of possible partnerships with participants. We aim to embed the session in a general introduction of the need for NbS in the humanitarian sector, notably the RCRC, and the likely challenges and opportunities.

Speaker
Mohammad Hassan
Egyptian Red Crescent Society
Disaster Management/ WASH Advisor

Sirak Temesgen
Netherlands Red Cross
Disaster Risk Reduction specialist

Jesper Jansweijer
Netherlands Red Cross
Programme Manager 

Raimond Duijsens
Netherlands Red Cross
Community Resilience Advisor

People in need of (medical) care are particularly vulnerable in crises. Extreme events repeatedly require evacuation and continued care. The workshop explores the necessary coordination of diverse tasks between actors involved in this field.

This practice-oriented workshop aims to discuss with participants from science and practice possible solutions for supporting medical and nursing care for people in times of crises and disasters. Hospital and ambulant care patients depend on adequate care and are therefore particularly vulnerable in emergencies and crises. Both the Corona pandemic and the floods in North Rhine-Westphalia and Rhineland-Palatinate in 2021 highlight the relevance of a crisis-resistant and resilient medical care infrastructure for outpatients in need of care and hospital patients. On the one hand, the workshop will present and discuss options for temporarily decentralizing hospital structures in the event of an evacuation. On the other hand, steps for the continued function and temporary centralization of outpatient care infrastructures will be examined. The focus will be on possibilities and challenges for cooperation between disaster management and relevant actors from the health and care sector as well as other actors of in social space. In addition to medical, nursing and technical aspects of evacuation and further care, the perspective of possible ethical and psychosocial implications as well as sociological approaches to critical health infrastructure and evacuation processes will be considered. Thus, approaches towards a social space-oriented civil protection are to be shown and an extended understanding of the coordination of and cooperation in evacuation measures in nursing-medical contexts is to be created.


Speaker
Peter Windsheimer
German Red Cross 
Research Associate 

 Luisa Habbel
German Red Cross
Scientific Associate 

Katharina Wezel
University of Tübingen
Research Associate 

Nicolas Bock
 Freie Universität Berlin – Disaster Research Unit
Research Associate 

Sidonie Hänsch
Freie Universität Berlin – Disaster Research Unit  
 Research Associate 

 Alexander Roppelt
University of Tübingen, International Center for Ethics in the Sciences and Humanities 
Scientific Assistant  

We present a discussion paper on the future developments of crisis staffs in emergency and disaster management.

Within this workshop, the discussion paper „Future of Crisis Staffs“, which was developed by approx. 30 experts, will be presented to and discussed with the workshop participants. Together with the participants we will also develop strategies for the successful implementation of the presented requirements.

Target group for this workshops are executive crisis managers, members of public and corporate crisis management teams as well as civil security and disaster researchers.

The discussion paper can be downloaded here.


Speaker
Gesine Hofinger
Team HF - Hofinger, Künzer & Mähler PartG
Partner

Dominic Gißler
Akkon Hochschule für Humanwissenschaften
Substitute professor

Frank Fiedrich
University Wuppertal
Professor for Public Safety and Crisis Management