Global Platform 2019 - Preparatory Days

03 May 2019
As the Global Platform 2019 is fast approaching, we would like to take the opportunity to highlight opportunities for your engagement during the preparatory days on 13 and 14 May:

1. The Stakeholder Forum (13-14 May, CICG and CCV)

2. The Science and Policy Forum (13-14 May, Assembly Hall, Palais des Nations)

3. Private Sector Day (14 May 2019, Rooms 7/8 CICG)


Participation in the events is open to all Governments and stakeholders registered to GP19.

Please see all information, including concept notes and information on speakers here: https://www.unisdr.org/conference/2019/globalplatform/programme/preparatory-days

In short:

Each event focuses on the specific role of stakeholders in building inclusive approaches to resilience in close collaboration with Governments as the primary responsible for disaster risk reduction. The events are thereby focusing on two main outcomes: Embedding resilience across all 2030 Agenda Agreements, and encouraging a more coherent and comprehensive approach to their implementation. With this, the events are interlinked and supporting the preparations towards the UN Climate Summit, High-level Dialogue on Financing for Development and High-Level Political Fora on Sustainable Development in July and September 2019.

The Stakeholder Forum provides a space for stakeholders to coordinate and exchange on best practices around inclusion collaboration with Governments and UN partners, and build coalitions across agendas, sectors and stakeholder groups. Recognizing that the achievement of the 2030 Agendas will hinge upon our willingness and readiness to overcome old structures, systemic barriers and predicaments in face of increasingly complex and interconnected threats to our current way of life and existence, the Forum aims to create a stakeholder movement for resilience across the 2030 Agenda, with the new UNDDR Stakeholder Engagement Mechanism (SEM) as a pilot for a new way of collaborating and action. The Forum will be opened by the honourable Minister of Bangladesh and other Government representatives, with high-level participants and representatives of civil society and community based organizations worldwide, including Mami Mizutori, UN Special Representative of the Secretary-General for DRR, David Nabarro, lead of the Nature-Based-Solutions Workstream of the UN Climate Summit and Margareta Wahlström, President of the Swedish Red Cross, joining the discussions throughout the two days.

The Science & Policy Forum will open with a session moderated by National Geographic Society journalist Andrew Revkin, along with engaging panellists including Mami Mizutori, UN Special Representative of the Secretary-General for DRR, Dr Flavia Schlegel, International Science Council Special Envoy for Global Science and Policy, and Professor Jacqueline McGlade, Chief Scientist, UNEP. The Forum will highlight practical examples and opportunities for interdisciplinary and intergenerational collaboration within the science community, as well as enhancing the opportunities for science, research and academia to shape the development of comprehensive and coherent policies and strategies for resilience. The Forum is closely linked to the ECOSOC Commission on Science and Technology for Development CSTD), held from 13-17 May in the Palais des Nations, Geneva, under the theme of resilient communities, and feed into the ECOSOC STI Forum, held in New York on the same dates.

The Private Sector Day focuses on risk-informed business investment as a critical element for the achievement of the 2030 Agenda. Following the Annual General Meeting of the UNDRR Private Sector Alliance for Disaster Resilient Societies (ARISE) in the morning (private sector only), the open afternoon sessions will focus on two main areas: Integration of disaster and climate risk into financial sector investment decisions, and the role of MSMEs in resilience building. The discussions will thereby be closely linked to ongoing initiatives such as the resilience and adaptation strand towards the UN Climate Summit, the Task Force for Climate Related Financial Disclosure (TCFD), the EU Capital Market Union Action Plan of Sustainable Finance, and trade and resilience discussions led by WTO. Speakers include Government representatives from Ministries of Industry and Commerce, CEOs and other C-Suite representatives, regulators and high-level representatives of business associations such as the International Chambers of Commerce and Africa Business Group and the UN Global Compact, World Trade Organization and International Trade Center.