In light of the extreme heatwaves and disastrous wildfires that have hit Europe this summer, the 2022 edition of the European Urban Resilience Forum will gather cities and experts to discuss how to address the emergency. The flagship resilience event in Europe will focus on the next steps to take towards climate change adaptation and urban resilience. The event takes place in Athens, Greece on 14 and 15 September 2022. Registration is open until 7 September.
From the UK recording the highest ever temperature in the country, to Greece, France, Spain, and Portugal fighting raging wildfires, to severe drought in rivers across the continent – Europe has been experiencing a climate emergency. This year the European Urban Resilience Forum will take stock and address challenges that cities are facing and outline opportunities for action.
The European Urban Resilience Forum is a European initiative driven by ICLEI Local Governments for Sustainability and the European Environment Agency, and this year will be co-organised by the City of Athens. The event will feature a total of 17 sessions and workshops over two days, featuring 70+ speakers including representatives from the European Investment Bank, the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction and Google among others. The Mayor of Athens, Kostas Bakoyannis, will open the event.
The European Urban Resilience Forum programme will also feature special guest Eleni Myrivili (City of Athens), the first Chief Heat Officer in Europe. In a highly anticipated plenary, Myrvili will provide insights to cities on dealing with heat and wildfires and offer a ‘Masterclass on Urban Heat: from Analysis to Action.’ The Forum will then dive into the challenges of cities living along water and look at resilience planning for coastal adaptation, featuring a collaboration of city officials from ICLEI member cities of Zagreb; Aarhus; Cannes; Bologna and Milan; Rotterdam and the Green Metropolitan Region Arnhem-Nijmegen; Matosinhos and Cascais; Malmö. Speakers from the cities of Pireaus, Thessaloniki and Athens; Milan; Lagos; Ramallah; Valencia, Barcelona and San Sebastián; and Manchester and London will enrich the discussion bringing their experience and perspective to the stage. A workshop focusing on the path Ukrainian cities can take for a resilient & sustainable post-war recovery will take place during the event.
Looking ahead, the final plenary focuses on ‘Financing a resilience partnership in Europe and beyond’ with speakers from ICLEI Europe and United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction. The final session opens a pathway for the discussion to continue on October 2022 at ICLEI’s flagship online conference Daring Cities, where urban leaders from around the world will focus on financing climate emergencies.
Register now.