Needs Conference

NEEDS Conference 2023: Building disaster resilient societies

30 OCTOBER: PhD SCHOOL

31 OCTOBER - 2 NOVEMBER: MAIN CONFERENCE

3 NOVEMBER: EXCURSIONS

The NEEDS conference aims to explore the status quo and to foster new approaches to disaster research and management. The conference wishes to harness its broad, interdisciplinary expertise by gathering disaster researchers from academic institutions and practitioners from the disaster management community (European and beyond) to build networks and discuss the most pressing issues in disaster research across research and practice oriented domains. This year's conference will take place in Enschede (NL) and it will focus on building a more resilient and inclusive future for all.

Communities across the globe are now faced with the challenge of adjusting their local resilience capacities to address a changing landscape of systemic risks. This has been brought on by the growing complexity of our societies and the increasing exposure to compounded and cascading hazard conditions. The European Forum for Disaster Risk Reduction Roadmap for 2021-2030 puts forth that “The Covid-19 pandemic, climate change and the complexity of existing, emerging and future risks make clear the need for a paradigm shift in preparedness, response and recovery”. Such a paradigm shift is needed globally, across humanitarian, emergency, and health sectors. In line with the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction, it requires holistic, inclusive approaches to disaster risk governance and decision-making at local and national levels, which consider the active roles of citizens and other relevant stakeholders as contributors to disaster-resilient societies.

NEEDS 2023 aims to dive into changing conditions and approaches for risk perceptions, risk communication, preparedness, prevention and adaptation, within the broader scope of disaster resilience. What are the considerations needed for e.g. civil engagement, informal procedures, institutional learning, technological innovation/intervention/accessibility, reconstruction, sustainable risk prevention, effective communication?

We welcome research from all fields which can bring discussions to these topics. We invite scholars, decision-makers, practitioners and other interested stakeholders to join the discussions! This year the conference will take place in the Netherlands and is hosted by the Centre for Disaster Resilience of the University of Twente and is organized in collaboration with research departments related to disaster science in the Netherlands from the VU Amsterdam, Erasmus University, Groningen University, and Leiden University.