On 8 April 2025, the Global Cities Hub organized a briefing for Local and Regional Governments (LRGs) on the 8th session of the Global Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction (GPDRR), in cooperation with the UN Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR) and Making Cities Resilient 2030.
The 8th session of the GPDRR will take place in Geneva on 2-6 June 2025 under the theme “Every Day Counts, Act for Resilience Today”. It features a wide range of sessions and activities, including several events of relevance to cities and regions on local risk governance, local financing, urban resilience, and localizing the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction.
The Central Role of Cities and Local Governments
Global Cities Hub co-director Anh Thu Duong opened the session by emphasizing that LRGs are on the front lines of disaster risk reduction (DRR). She underscored the value of multistakeholder and multilevel cooperation in achieving resilience goals. GPDRR, she noted, is a strategic opportunity for LRGs to bring their voices into the global conversation and influence international policy. She urged cities to demonstrate leadership, participate actively, and make their contributions visible throughout the platform.
Lauren Sorkin of the Resilient Cities Network built on this point, stressing the collective power of cities working together through peer learning and networked action. She emphasized the urgency of risk-informed investment, particularly in urban infrastructure, and the importance of city leadership in shaping resilient futures. The GPDRR offers a space for LRGs to cooperate and share knowledge in a world where national governments cannot address risk alone, are more volatile and international cooperation more complex than ever.
Programme and Outcomes of GPDRR
Elina Palm of UNDRR presented a detailed overview of the platform’s programme, including the many opportunities for LRGs to engage, network, share best practices and learn. She clarified that GPDRR is not a forum for negotiating new agreements, but a collaborative stock-taking space to share innovation, review progress on the Sendai Framework and identify any gaps in relation thereto. As formal outcome, there will be a co-chair summary, a high-level political document reflecting insights from ministerial roundtables, voluntary commitments, and thematic sessions. Elina Palm emphasized that these outputs will directly feed into other global processes like the High-Level Political Forum on SDGs, making it essential for diverse voices, including those of LRGs, to be well represented.
Making the Platform Work for Local Implementation
Sanjaya Bhatia, head of the Making Cities Resilient 2030 (MCR2030) Secretariat, focused on how GPDRR can be leveraged to advance concrete local action. He described MCR2030 as a global mechanism focused on advocacy around the Sendaï Framework and its implementation at local level. Today, MCR2030 supports over 1,800 cities with tools, technical assistance, and capacity-building resources. He then outlined ten strategic reasons for local leaders to attend the GPDRR, from networking and sharing best practices and successful initiatives to accessing donors and strengthening cross-sector collaboration.
A Call for Shared Ownership and Inclusion
Speaking on behalf of Switzerland as co-chair of GPDRR, Marie Brüning emphasized the importance of inclusive participation and shared ownership. She encouraged LRGs to participate in the GPDRR and bring their innovations and stories to ensure the localization of the Sendai Framework and to make the voice of LRGs reflected in the co-chair summary.
Switzerland is committed to multi-level collaboration and representation, and it led by example: it involved all Swiss DRR actors, at all levels, in the organization of the GPDRR from the outset.
Visit globalplatform.undrr.org for more information on registration, programme and on practical aspects of the GPDRR.
Video of the event
Presentations
- Elina Palm’s presentation
- Sanjaya Bhatia’s presentation
- Lauren Sorkin’s video