Dealing with Disasters, GCRF, UK Alliance for Disaster Research, Disasters ResearchGroup and UK Collaborative for Development Research
DwD-GCRF-UKADR-DRG-UKCDR International Conference, 2019
17th, 18th and 19th July @ Northumbria University, Newcastle upon Tyne, UK

New points of departure in transitioning disaster
reduction and sustainability challenges
POST EVENT – INITIAL REPORT
By: Prof. Andrew Collins, Northumbria University and Co-Chair of UKADRThis year’s conference aimed to stimulate debate andadvance thinking around ‘New Points of Departure inTransitioning Disaster Reduction and Sustainability
Challenges’, to build on the progress made in the recent
United Nations Global Platform 2019 and in anticipationof the forthcoming Climate Summit. There is a need for
new points of departure in relation to science andtechnology, political will and behaviour in bringing
systemic changes to the way people take on disasterthreats and sustainability challenges, to survive and for
future quality of life.
Supported by the UKs Global Challenges Research Fund(GCRF) the occasion combined the 12th Dealing withDisasters (DwD) and 3rd UK Alliance of Disaster
Research (UKADR) Conferences, Disaster ResearchGroup (DRG) and UK Collaborative for Development
Research (UKCDR) in examining current advances andfuture research needs. The event took place on the 10th
Anniversary of the Disasters Research Group (DRG).
Further details on each of these institutions and theNorthumbria University Disaster and Development Network(DDN) is available in the main conference brochure posted
to the web site www.northumbria.ac.uk/dwd2019 .
The conference was attended by 130 delegates from 17countries. Structured into six plenary and 18 parallelsessions it included 100 presentations, five workshops, asymposium the Annual General Meeting of the United
Kingdom Alliance for Disaster Research (UKADR). Whilst
this was not the largest of the multi-disciplinary Dealing
with Disasters events hosted by Northumbria to date it
facilitated highly significant content and policy reach andhas received positive feedback.
Following an opening by the Northumbria Pro ViceChancellor, Lucy Winskell, and introductions from thepartner institutions the envoy of the Special
Representative of the United Nations Secretary General,Ricardo Mena, provided an overview of the current stateof knowledge application towards global targets of disasterrisk reduction alongside the sustainable development
agenda.
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Plenaries on the second day of the conference begun
with a special address from the Disaster Risk
Management Focal Point of the World HealthOrganisation, Jonathan Abrahams. He was joined by
the representative of the WHO Kobe Centre fromJapan Ryoma Kayano, Head of Global Disaster Risk
Reduction for Public Health England, Virginia Murray,
Ben Taylor, Chief Executive of Evidence Aid and a
special delegation from the Chinese University ofHong Kong.
Parallel sessions and plenaries included inputs from17 UK University physical, environmental and social
sciences groups and six Non-Governmental
Organisations.
Two workshops lead by Public Health England on‘Hazards redefinition’ and by Northumbria on ‘Action
Data’ took place as part of Working Groups of theUnited Nations, and also being supported by GCRF. Aworkshop hosted by Alliance to Feed the Earth inDisasters (ALLFED) provided a team of its staff fromvaried backgrounds in interactive exploration ofscenarios. A workshop provided by University ofSalford THINKlab demonstrated state of the art
satellite and modelling technologies for enhancing
disaster risk reduction and response.
Following the second day opening plenary, the WHO
Thematic Platform for Health Emergency and Disaster
Risk Management Research Network symposium
consisted of two further sessions with 12 inputs,
including four from DDN affiliates and one from
Northumbria Healthcare Trust. The Platform waslaunched as part of the inclusion of health (and wellbeing) in the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk
Reduction 2015-2030 and follows last years research
Summit of the same Platform at the Chinese
University of Hong Kong exactly one year earlier. A
contribution to this process had also been made via
the 2015 Dealing with Disasters conference on HealthCentred Disaster Risk Reduction.

Two of the recently established large GCRF Research
Hubs, on Urban Risk Transitions (Tomorrow’s Cities)
and Living Deltas provided a first combined GCRF
hubs session. This included debate around core
themes of the hubs and the challenges andopportunities offered by this new form of UK research
investment and with inputs from nine institutions.
A special workshop session of the ‘Youth Voice’ inDisaster Risk Reduction was organised by Mark
Ashley Parry of the Northumbria University Disasterand Development Society (DDS). This included inputs
from schools, the South African Youth Centre forDRR, the Corpo Italiano di San Lazzaro, Italy, Kyoto
University, Japan and by remote link up fromNorthumbria Post-graduate students currently carryingout field work in one of the more isolated regions ofNepal. This special session was also stimulated bycurrent actions surrounding the school climate action
and Extinction Rebellion.
A fuller report on the proceedings and outcome of theconference is being worked on for later release. It isintended that all presentations will be made available
online for those who consent to that.
The hosts at Northumbria University are thankful tothe partner organisations, the United Kingdom
Alliance for Disaster Research (UKADR), the Global
Challenges Research Fund (GCRF), the Disasters
Research Group (DRG) and the United Kingdom
Collaborative for Development Research (UKADR) for
this combined conference. Institutional supportingorganisations were the United Nations Office forDisaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR), Public HealthEngland (PHE), Integrated Research on Disaster Risk
(IRDR), University of Bristol Cabot Institute,Collaborating Centre for Oxford University andChinese University of Hong (CCOUC), WHO
Thematic Platform for Health Emergency andDisaster Risk Management and the Global Alliance ofDisaster Research Institutes (GADRI). The event wassupported by a Committee of nine people from within
this group who are named in the main conference
documentation. The event benefitted from the supportof Northumbria Research and Innovation Services
and Northumbria Campus Services.
The Conference Chair would also like to specificallythank staff and students of the Department ofGeography and Environmental Sciences and thewider Northumbria University who in various ways
contributed inputs. Thanks to Mark Ashley Parry andto Becky Richardson for their important enthusiasm
and back up across several academic and logisticalaspects of delivery.
The UK Government’s Department for International
Development representative and Senior Humanitarian
Advisor, Roger Bellers, presented the new emphasis
for his department on fragility and conflict affectedregions. This was followed by the first of a series ofUK Research and Innovation (UKRI) inputs. Ruth
Kelman for NERC presented on investment intoresilient environments. Later plenaries included inputs
from ESRC on inequitable resilience and from theGCRF, UK Space Agency and the European
Commission.

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