28 October 2025, Geneva, Switzerland - In collaboration with the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR), UNITAR and its global network of affiliated International Training Centres for Authorities and Leaders (CIFAL) hosted the “Words into Action" Learning Webinar Series comprising eight online sessions and one in-person session taking place between 1 and 23 October 2025.
The sessions took place in the framework of the International Day for Disaster Risk Reduction (IDDRR) 2025 under the theme “Fund Resilience, Not Disasters”. The IDDRR was established in 1989, after a call by the United Nations General Assembly for a day to promote a global culture of risk-awareness and disaster reduction. Held every 13 October, the day celebrates how people and communities around the world are reducing their exposure to disasters and raising awareness about the importance of building resilience.
The sessions brought together 445 participants from local and national governments, practitioners, programme planners, academic institutions, and civil society organizations to explore the use and application of UNDRR Words into Action Disaster Risk Assessment Guidance (NDRA) at local, subnational and national levels. Sessions were led by Directors of CIFAL training centres, officials from UNDRR and its Regional Scientific and Technical Advisory Groups (R-STAG), local, national and regional authorities, academics, and indigenous leaders.
The sessions kicked-off with opening remarks from the Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General for Disaster Risk Reduction and Head of UNDRR Mr. Kamal Kishore who highlighted that "the first step to reducing risk, is understanding risk" and stressed the value of applying national disaster risk assessment tools at the national, sub-national and local levels.
Special remarks were also provided by UN Assistant Secretary-General and Executive Director of UNITAR Ms. Michelle Gyles-McDonnough, highlighting "the need to strengthen the capacities of those responsible for disaster risk assessments to apply risk analytics, gather relevant data, evaluate and prioritize risk drivers to design actionable management strategies. The suite of e-learning courses offered by UNITAR and UNDRR aims to serve as practical tools to develop disaster risk assessment plans using the NDRA guidance in alignment with national governance frameworks".
Throughout all the sessions, UNDRR Risk Specialist Mr. Adam Fysh provided an overview of the NDRA Guide as a comprehensive framework for conducting disaster risk assessments at national and local levels, serving as a tool to support practitioners in understanding and managing disaster risk in alignment with the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015–2030.
The Words into Action Learning Webinar Series were successfully delivered jointly with 15 CIFAL centres including CIFAL Singapore, CIFAL Newcastle (Australia), CIFAL Bangkok (Thailand), CIFAL Banjul (The Gambia), CIFAL Nigeria, CIFAL Saudi Arabia, CIFAL Japan, CIFAL Honolulu (USA), CIFAL Lebanon, CIFAL Durban (South Africa), CIFAL Victoria (Canada), CIFAL York (Canada), CIFAL Miami (USA), CIFAL Merida (Mexico) and CIFAL Jeju (South Korea). Sessions were led by 42 disaster risk reduction experts drawing from experience in implementing national disaster risk assessments in regions across Africa, Asia-Pacific, The Arab States and The Americas.
Each discussion reinforced the crucial role of national actors and first responders in transforming policy into action and ensuring that strategies are both context-specific and people-centered. By combining expert insights and regional knowledge exchanges, the sessions aimed at motivating action, fostering collaboration, while contributing to community resilience, highlighted Ms. Estrella Merlos, Deputy Head of the CIFAL Global Network.
