Switzerland

On 26 December 2004, an earthquake in the Indian Ocean caused a devastating tsunami that killed around 230,000 people in 14 countries. It remains one of the deadliest disasters in recent human history.

The people who lived through this tragedy are forever changed by it. That is why this year, World Tsunami Awareness Day (WTAD) is honouring the memory of the Indian Ocean Tsunami on its 20th anniversary and highlighting major advances on protecting people since.

This exhibition tells the powerful accounts of tsunami survivors alongside contemporary artworks that capture the sea change of perspective that the aftermath brought, with unprecedented global collaboration on disaster resilience. Everyone must be tsunami ready - recognise the warning signs, be protected by early warning systems and be able to act quickly and get to high ground. We must have resilient infrastructure so livelihoods are not destroyed and build back better when tsunamis hit.

Tsunamis are rare...

The Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015-20301 was adopted by 187 United Nations (UN) Member States on 18 March 2015, at the Fourth UN World Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction (WCDRR) in Sendai, Japan, and endorsed by the UN General Assembly in June 2015, with the expected outcome of a “substantial reduction of disaster risk and losses in lives, livelihoods and health and in the economic, physical, social, cultural and environmental assets of persons, businesses, communities and countries” over the following 15 years.

During the negotiations, countries and partners highlighted the need to:

1. Continue to invest in, develop, maintain and strengthen people-centred, end-to-end early warning systems
2. Promote the application of simple and low cost early warning equipment and facilities
3. Broaden the dissemination channels for early warning information to facilitate early action

Countries also called for the further development of...

United Nations/World Health Organization/Switzerland Conference on Strengthening Space Cooperation for Global Health

Rationale and Context

The conference will have UNISPACE+50 Thematic Priority 5 - "Strengthened Space Cooperation for Global Health" - as the central theme while also considering the relevant Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and will aim at fostering dialogue on how to create and reinforce relevant partnerships for better utilization of space-based assets, data and technologies in addressing global health. The conference will cover a number of essential aspects such as showcasing global health initiatives and their use of space technologies, data access, data provision services and information sharing - including data and services interoperability, capacity building, funding for gap filling projects, identification of key stakeholders and further definition of a roadmap for progressing in the development of this thematic priority. The...

More than 60 humanitarian networks and partnerships are invited to hold their meetings and organize joint sessions at the "Humanitarian Networks and Partnerships Week" (HNPW). HNPW 2024 will be held in a hybrid format from April 29 to May 10, 2024. The first week (April 29 to May 3) will be held remotely, while the second week (May 6 to May 10) will be organized face-to-face at the CICG in Geneva.

Nine areas of common concern will be addressed for inter-network collaboration. These are:

1. Accountability to Affected Populations
2. Anticipatory Action
3. Climate Crisis
4. Emergency Response in a Pandemic
5. Inclusion
6. Integrating Security Risk Management in Humanitarian Action
7. Localization
8. Nexus
9. Organizational Culture and Power Relations

To promote and support the availability and application of science and technology to decision-making in Disaster Risk Reduction.

The conference will bring together the full diversity of the science and technology community, policy makers, practitioners and researchers from all geographical regions, at local, national, regional and international levels to discuss how the science and technology community will best support the implementation of the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015-2030.

The AI for Good Global Summit is the leading United Nations platform for global and inclusive dialogue on AI. The Summit is hosted each year in Geneva by the ITU in partnership with UN agencies, XPRIZE Foundation and ACM.