Press Conference on the 2021 European Forum for Disaster Risk Reduction

On 21 September 2021, Mr. Octavian Bivol, UNDRR ROECA Chief and Ms. Patrícia Gaspar, the Secretary of State for Home Affairs, Portugal officially announced the upcoming the European Forum for Disaster Risk Reduction (EFDRR) to the media at a joint press conference held at the Ministry of Home Affairs in Lisbon, Portugal. The video can be seen at https://twitter.com/govpt/status/1440269917383577603

The speakers informed on the preparations for the 2021 EFDRR and highlighted the importance of this event. Ms. Gaspar said that “At a time when many countries are struggling with extreme events, never before has an event come at such an appropriate time.” Mr. Bivol expressed his sincere gratitude to Portugal for hosting the forum. He emphasized that the Forum will reflect on critical lessons learned from the COVID-19 pandemic and good practices identified in the face of intensifying impacts of climate change. He explained that ministers will convene to pledge greater action on prevention and set out, through a new Roadmap to 2030, a transformational approach to disaster resilience. The EFDRR provides opportunities for member states to profile progress to date in the Sendai Framework implementation and contributes to the Global Platform on Disaster Risk Reduction in May 2022.

The European Forum 2021 will convene 55 Member States at ministerial, regional and local levels, as well as stakeholders and partners from Europe and Central Asia on reducing disaster risk and tackling the growing impacts of climate change. The 2021 EFDRR is hosted by the Government of Portugal, organized by the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR), in partnership with the European Commission and the Council of Europe. The forum will take place from 24 to 26 November in Matosinhos, Portugal and in a virtual format.