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[av_heading heading=’Iloilo experience in resilience shared in Germany forum’ tag=’h3′ style=’blockquote modern-quote’ size=” subheading_active=’subheading_below’ subheading_size=’15’ padding=’10’ color=” custom_font=”][/av_heading]
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Monday, May 8, 2017
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ILOILO City – The city government and its partner university joined over 300 leaders and experts from around the globe in the 8th Global Forum on Urban Resilience and Adaptation from May 4 to 6 in Bonn, Germany.
Mayor Jed Patrick Mabilog and Mary Ann Gumban, dean of the College of Management of University of the Philippines Visayas, also joined a pre-conference training on May 3 on the Educational Partnerships for Innovation in Communities (EPIC) framework in conjunction with the Resilient Cities 2017.
Mabilog was a presenter, too, and panelist in a May 5 session on “shaping a resilient and sustainable urban future: the insurance industry and cities agenda going forward” summarizing the key outcomes of disaster risk reduction and investment.
The EPIC, previously known as the “Oregon Model,” was pioneered by the University of Oregon in the United States in 2009. It is known for its scalability and replicability across cities and universities, by matching city needs with university capacity – overcoming the gap between knowledge and practice – to come up with innovative solutions to local quality of life issues.
The city-university delegates were expected to replicate the EPIC model in their cities with the urban development learning centers that will be set by United States Agency for International Development (USAID) through its Strengthening Urban Resilience for Growth with Equity (SURGE) Project.
The knowledge hubs are envisioned to foster urban development, climate-resilient land use and infrastructure planning, and sustainable water and sanitation services.
Participants learn through interactive and thought-provoking discussions led with expert speakers from local governments, private sector, researchers, innovators, non-governmental organizations and United Nations agencies.
This year, the series served as a platform for knowledge exchange amongst representatives from over 50 local governments, partners, and key stakeholders on how to achieve integrated urban resilience strategies.
The program featured local examples, case studies, and project showcases documenting good practices and lessons learned; interactive sharing of relevant tools, research, and resources; and consultation with national and international partners on new initiatives and directions.
Organized by International Council for Local Environmental Initiatives (ICLEI) – Local Governments for Sustainability, the forum focused on urban resilience and adaptation to climate change challenges through sessions on localizing global frameworks, disaster risk reduction planning and policy, financing resilience, risk transfer and insurance, and mechanisms for measuring, reporting and accelerating action for resilience building, among others.
The Resilient Cities congress was first launched in 2010 in Bonn with the goal of forging partnerships between local government leaders and climate change adaptation experts to pursue solutions for adaptation challenges in urban environments. (Iloilo City PIO/PN)
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