World Bosai Forum
The World Bosai Forum brings together actors in disaster risk reduction from across society and the world to share knowledge, learn from one another, and achieve holistic risk reduction.
Description
‘Bosai’ is a Japanese term which refers to disaster risk reduction efforts at all stages of the disaster cycle, from prevention and preparedness to response, recovery, and reconstruction. The Bosai concept means to essentially mainstream disaster risk reduction into policy, society, and culture around the world.
The concept for the World Bosai Forum emerged during the Third United Nations World Conference in Disaster Risk Reduction in Sendai City, Japan, held in March 2015, the same conference at which the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015-2030 was agreed. The first World Bosai Forum was held in 2017, with the World Bosai Forum Foundation established in the following year.
The conference aims to bring together members of the private sector, academia, civil society, media, government, and international organizations biennially in a broad and open forum to learn from one another in a holistic approach to disaster risk reduction. The Forum is particularly noted in its keen inclusion of private citizens, with thousands of attendees in Sendai sharing the experience alongside government officials and experts in their respective fields.
Did the Sendai Framework change or contribute to changes in your activities/organization? If so, how?
The concept of the World Bosai Forum was established alongside Sendai Framework at the Third United Nations World Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction in Sendai, March 2025. The word ‘Bosai’ itself refers to the mainstreaming of holistic disaster risk reduction throughout all levels of the disaster cycle and across society, policy, and culture.
The Forum draws from the Sendai Framework’s acknowledgement that disaster risk reduction must be a multi-stakeholder practice by bringing together experts and professions from governance, academia, the private sector, and civil society with private citizens to share knowledge, learn from each other's successes and challenges, and ultimately move disaster risk reduction forward in align with the Sendai Framework.
What led you to make this commitment/initiative?
What was your position before making this Voluntary Commitment / prior to the Sendai Framework?
The Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction is the core inspiration and guiding philosophy behind the World Bosai Forum, with the first Forum being held only two years after the adoption of the Framework. The Forum itself works to carry forward the momentum of the Sendai Framework, utilizing the concept of ‘Bosai’ to translate the Framework’s principles into tangible actions through collaboration, knowledge sharing, and innovation.
Deliverables and Progress report
Deliverables
Deliverables are the end-products of the initiative/commitment, which can include issuance of publications or knowledge products, outcomes of workshops, training programs, videos, links, photographs, etc.
The World Bosai Forum 2025 was held on 7th – 9th March and was attended by 5,434 persons across a diverse range of in-person sessions, poster sessions, mini-presentations, workshops, booths, online presentations, and film screenings. The event was reported on widely among newspapers and broadcasting companies, with 22 of these organizations requesting interviews.
The first World Bosai Forum was held between the 25th – 28th November 2017. The forum attracted over 900 participants from over 40 countries and regions. The conference focused on the international agenda agreed in the Sendai Framework and on the important lessons to be learned from the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake and Tsunami only six years prior.
The third World Bosai Forum was held on 10th – 12th March 2023 in Sendai, Japan. The forum was attended by 5,412 people across its three days, from at least 39 different countries and regions. These participants were invited to attend a broad range of events, including 30 oral sessions, 7 conferences, 55 poster sessions, 33 mini-presentations, and 33 exhibition booths. This included a special session to address the recent Turkey-Syria Earthquake.
Deliverable description: The second World Bosai Forum was convened between 9th – 12th November 2019. 871 people from 38 countries and regions participated in the event across 50 oral sessions, three keynote speeches, 47 poster sessions, 33 mini-presentations, and 14 exhibition booths, many with a particular focus on Global Target E of the Sendai Framework (Substantially increase the number of countries with national and local disaster risk reduction strategies by 2020) as a sub-theme of the conference.
