21st European Week of Regions and Cities 2023 - Bridging the gap in cross-border cooperation: societal resilience and disaster risk reduction

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Time

14:30-15:30

About the session 

While there is increasing awareness of the cross-border implications of disasters, European cities, municipalities and regions still face difficulties in collective response to natural hazards and climate-induced disasters. Between 1980 and 2020, disasters affected nearly 50 million people in Europe and caused roughly €12 billion in economic losses annually. The session aims to seek practical ways to enhance societal preparedness while addressing vulnerabilities to reduce the risk and impact of disasters. It will mainly focus on how to strengthen cooperation among the cities and regions where the degree of understanding and infrastructures as well as the tools and capacities at their disposal may vary; and fill the gaps between the reality on the ground and different governance levels. 

Background 

The European Week of Regions and Cities (#EURegionsWeek) is the biggest annual Brussels-based event dedicated to cohesion policy. It is a platform to discuss common challenges for Europe’s regions and cities and examine possible solutions by bringing together a diverse community of speakers and participants – politicians, decision-makers, experts, practitioners, civil society, academia, the EU institutions, the media and providing a neutral space for capacity-building, learning and exchange of experience and facilitating cooperation and networking between regions and cities.  In parallel, the international community celebrates the International Day for Disaster Risk Reduction on 13 October 2023. This international milestone will accompany the important discussions taking place in the context of EWRC and will provide a global relevance to this session’s focus on social resilience and Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR).