Disussions of Creating New CIFAL Centre in Newcastle, Australia
16 July 2015, Newcastle, Australia – On the occasion of the 5th Newcastle International Conference on Building Resilience, local authorities from Asia-Pacific countries and local authorities from Australia attended a session about the work of UNITAR on urban resilience. The session also provided an opportunity to introduce UNITAR and the CIFAL Global Network. In particular, the speakers explained the role of local authorities in building resiliency in cities and municipalities and outlined how UNITAR is supporting local authorities and actors through capacity building. Following the presentations, a Q&A session took place to allow university leadership, local authorities and UNITAR to interact in relation to the benefits and opportunities of establishing a new CIFAL training centre in Newcastle. 
Other meetings regarding the new CIFAL Centre took place between Mr. Mejia and the Lord Mayor of Newcastle, Councillor Nuatali Nelmes. Newcastle is one of the most important cities in Australia and has been hit by several natural disasters in recent years. In light of this, the local authorities recognize the importance of capacity building in the building of resilience to face such hazards.
Disaster Risk Reduction is an important topic across the globe, and UNITAR engages with this topic through training courses for local authorities. After its participation in the third UN World Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction (WCDRR) in Sendai, Japan in March 2015, UNITAR expanded its portfolio to offer training on a global scope via e-learning courses.
After a formal request was issued by the City of Newcastle and the University of Newcastle, it has been agreed that the three focus areas of the new CIFAL centre in Australia will be:
- DRR in the Asia-Pacific Region
- Sustainable Urban Planning
- Indigenous Peoples Issues
Photo 1: Mr. Alex Mejia receives the formal Letter of Intention from the University of Newcastle requesting UNITAR to establish a new CIFAL Center in Australia at the main campus of the University
Photo 2: The Lord Mayor of Newcastle, Councillor Nuatali Nelmes, met with Mr. Mejia to discuss the creation of a CIFAL Centre in Newcastle