On Wednesday, June 21, the Centre for Disaster Resilience symposium took place at the Faculty of ITC at the University of Twente. Through three sessions, the theme was explored in-depth. Irene Manzella, also the driving force behind the CDR, delivered the opening speech: ‘The CDR would like to be a catalyst of change for all of us who work to create a Disaster Resilience Society and a Sustainable Future at ITC, UT and beyond'.
Several topics were discussed, including ‘Climate risk financing’, ‘Resilience of Road networks in the face of natural disasters’, and the new ‘UT Climate Centre’. Representatives from the six scientific departments of ITC were also present at the symposium to provide an overview of the activities related to Disaster Resilience in their respective research groups.
"It was an inspiring afternoon. We exchanged experiences and insights on this important theme. Within ITC, all research groups are involved in disaster resilience, and on occasions like these, we come together and seek connections within this topic, with the move of ITC to Campus we are sure those will extend to other faculties to further increase our impact”, says Manzella. The next major event hosted by the CDR is the NEEDS Conference 2023: Building Disaster Resilient Societies, an international conference co-organized by several Dutch Institutions and scheduled for 31 October - 2 November 2023.