Global Platform 2019: less than two months to go

The Global Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction is less than two months away, and here at GNDR preparations for the event are well underway.

CSO engagement at the Global Platform

Since the beginning of the year, we have been working with the GNDR community to prepare civil society organisations’ participation in the Global Platform.

Back in February we reached out to a number of other regional CSO networks that form part of GNDR to discuss joint advocacy activities for the event. During this workshop, we initiated the process of developing an official CSO Statement for the Global Platform.

We are working with the regions to prepare a list of key issues that could be part of this Statement and we will be reaching out to all GNDR members shortly in order to get your input on which of these issues that should be addressed in the Statement.

First ever DRR Stakeholder Forum

For this upcoming Global Platform, UNISDR has given all non-government actors involved in DRR the opportunity to organise an event prior to the official start of the Global Platform.

Since last autumn, GNDR has been working together with other stakeholders – including business and private sector companies, academia, science and technology groups and other civil society representatives – to organise the first ever DRR Stakeholder Forum on 13 and 14 May 2019 in Geneva, Switzerland.

The DRR Stakeholder Forum will be a two-day event prior to the official start of the Global Platform in which stakeholders will get together to exchange best practices around inclusion, collaboration and engagement in the advancement of the Sendai Framework.

Another aim of the forum will be to ensure a DRR approach to the Sustainable Development Goals and climate change discussions.

The draft agenda, together with a list of other events happening during the preparatory days, can be found here.

The Forum will welcome participation of everyone in Geneva, including governments and intergovernmental organisations’ representatives.

• If you are a GNDR members, check our Community Platform for more updates!
• If you are not a GNDR members, keep an eye on the Global Platform website for official information about the Forum.

Stakeholders Declaration

Together with the other DRR actors, we are also currently in the process of preparing an initial draft Declaration that will be finalised during the Stakeholder Forum.

The Declaration will outline the role of non-government actors – including CSOs, community leaders and private sector actors – in supporting the implementation of the Sendai Framework.

The Declaration will also call on governments to take concrete action to enhance collaboration and multi-stakeholder cooperation.

Get involved

• Are you participating in the Global Platform 2019? If so, please contact our Advocacy and Learning Coordinator Valeria Drigo.
• If you are a non-government actor, we would love to get your input for the preparation of the Stakeholder Declaration regardless of whether you plan to attend the Global Platform or not. Please contact Advocacy and Learning Coordinator Valeria Drigo.
• If you are a GNDR member on the lookout for updates in the group “Global Platform for DRR 2019“ on GNDR’s Community Platform, we are happy to announce that we will reach out to all of you with various opportunities for you to get involved.
• UNISDR, IFRC and GNDR are also working to open up a space for community members to connect with the discussions going on at the GP remotely. This will include live stream sessions, and short video messages from people around the world on themes relevant to the GP sessions. More information on this will follow. Keep watching the updates on GNDR’s Community Platform for this!

We will be posting updates to our preparations continuously, so check in with gndr.org and GNDR’s Community Platform regularly to stay up to date on the latest.