10 April 2026, Hiroshima, Japan –The UNITAR Women’s Leadership in Tsunami-based Disaster Risk Reduction for World Tsunami Awareness Day 2025 training programme concluded on 12 March 2026, having brought together emerging leaders, especially women from Asia and the Pacific, to strengthen their skills in disaster risk reduction and community resilience.

Implemented by the UNITAR Hiroshima Project Office with the support of the Government and People of Japan, the programme aimed to empower leaders with knowledge and leadership skills to design inclusive disaster risk reduction strategies in their communities. It was delivered in two phases to build both foundational knowledge and practical leadership skills.

• Phase I, held from 10 September to 19 November 2025, consisted of asynchronous online learning, expert-led webinars and peer exchanges for participants from across the Asia-Pacific and beyond.
• In Phase II, selected participants from the global cohort joined live online sessions to develop their project concepts, while participants from Pacific island countries took part in an in-person regional workshop in Apia. The participants further deepened their understanding of disaster risk reduction and strengthened international and regional networks.

Through this blended learning approach, the programme created opportunities for participants to exchange experiences, build networks and strengthen their capacity to promote inclusive disaster risk reduction in their communities.

Online Global Track

Phase II was divided into two tracks to maximize learning opportunities for participants: an online global track and an in-person Pacific track. Twenty-four participants from non-Pacific countries joined the global track, held from 3 to 17 February 2026. The online track consisted of five interactive workshops conducted via Zoom, combining expert presentations with participant-led discussions. Participants explored key themes in disaster risk reduction, including:

• Understanding hazards and risk assessment tools
• Leadership and management in disaster risk reduction
• Nature-based solutions and traditional ecological knowledge
• Inclusivity in disaster risk reduction and the principle of “Leave No One Behind”
• Health, safety and mental health considerations during disasters

Each session began with an expert lecture, followed by participant presentations of their disaster risk reduction project plans. The setup allowed participants to exchange ideas and receive feedback from peers and experts.

In-Person Pacific Track: Regional Workshop in Samoa

For the in-person Pacific track, 12 participants from six Pacific island countries were selected to participate in a four-day regional workshop in Apia, held from 9 to 12 March 2026. During the workshop, participants engaged in expert lectures, group exercises, discussions and study visits focusing on disaster resilience in the Pacific. The workshop also covered topics such as:

• Understanding hazards (geological, technological and hydrometeorological hazards)
• Ecosystem-based and community-based disaster risk reduction
• Leadership and management in navigating disaster risk reduction
• Pacific indigenous traditional knowledge and disaster resilience
• Post-disaster needs assessment
• Early warning systems and communications in disaster risk reduction
• Inclusivity in disaster risk reduction, with consideration to gender, persons with disabilities and other marginalized groups

A highlight of the workshop was a study visit to the Samoa National Emergency Operation Centre, where participants gained firsthand insights into disaster preparedness and response mechanisms. Participants also visited Maninoa on the southern coast, where a local community member shared his experiences of the 2009 Samoa earthquake and tsunami.

Throughout the workshop, participants developed their disaster risk reduction project plans, which they presented during the final session of the programme.