From knowledge to action: Communication for a safer world
Auditorium B, IFRC Headquarters
Chemin des Crêts 17, 1209 Geneva
Background
Disaster risk is changing rapidly, as climate change alters the intensity, frequency and geography of hazards. At the same time, risk is becoming more complex, shaped by rapid urbanization, environmental degradation, conflict and fragility. Hazards are increasingly overlapping and compounding, exposing communities to risks they may have little experience of. In parallel, unequal access to information, harmful information, language and accessibility barriers, and vulnerabilities in the media sector and telecommunications infrastructure can affect whether and how people receive, understand and act on risk information.
The event is organized by the UN Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR), UNESCO and the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC), with support from the Government of Switzerland. The sessions will examine whether current approaches to disaster risk reduction adequately account for information risks and communication vulnerabilities; whether public institutions, media and telecommunications systems are prepared to communicate effectively before and during crises; and how behavioural, inclusive and culturally grounded approaches can improve the way people understand and respond to risk.
It will bring together risk practitioners, researchers, journalists and media organizations, regulators, international organizations and other actors from Geneva and beyond. Risk communication will be considered as part of disaster risk governance and preparedness, including information access, strategic communication, media preparedness and resilience, telecommunications systems, behavioural science, cultural knowledge and inclusive participation.
The event will take place in person in Geneva and online. Participants can register to attend the full event in Geneva, or join selected sessions online. Online registration is available separately for the morning programme (09:30–12:45) and for the afternoon session, “Closer to home: from information to connection” (15:45–17:00). A dedicated LinkedIn Live conversation (14:30–15:00) will also open part of the discussion to a wider online audience.
Programme
09:30–10:15 | Opening and World Risk Poll results
The day will open with welcoming remarks and a presentation of findings from the World Risk Poll, providing a global perspective on how people perceive risk and preparedness.
10:15–11:15 | Understanding information risks
What can prevent people from receiving, understanding, trusting or acting on risk information?
11:30–12:45 | Building the foundations for effective risk communication
How can risk communication be embedded in governance and preparedness before a crisis occurs?
14:30–15:00 | LinkedIn Live: Risk communication and decision-making — what shapes how people respond to risk?
A live conversation exploring how people perceive risk, process information and make decisions under uncertainty — and what this means for those designing risk communication.
15:00–15:30 | Interactive session
15:45–17:00 | Closer to home: from information to connection
How can communication connect more effectively with people’s realities and ways of understanding risk?
Registration
This is a hybrid event, it is possible to join online and in-person.