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DRIxUCL Collegiate Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction

What are the top risks that worry resilience professionals as we emerge into a post-pandemic world? This session will open the event with an overview of how we, as members of this exciting and evolving profession, prioritize and respond to some of our biggest challenges. Based on an annual survey of nearly 500 professionals across…

🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧: As part of my role at DRI, I am excited to announce the DRI International and UCL’s one-day conference on 14th June 2023 in London, United Kingdom!

The goal of every DRI Collegiate Conference is to provide resilience professionals, both certified and non-certified, and students in related fields an opportunity to experience and develop thought leadership in business continuity, disaster risk reduction and operational resilience today.

The goal of the event is to provide:
– A diverse program presented by subject matter experts in their respective fields with real-world perspectives and/or academic expertise.
– Interdisciplinary and thought-provoking presentations by speakers that challenge or validate assumptions in the world of business continuity, risk management and related disciplines.
– Regional programs that showcase the current trends in business continuity and its related fields for local and under-visited audiences.
– A low-cost/no-cost opportunity for certified and other professionals to gain worthwhile knowledge and information.
– A chance to collect the necessary units, points or experience needed to maintain certifications through DRI or other certifying organizations.

In addition to speaking, I was delighted to serve as a co-organizer of this unique event. My session was about Global Trends in Risk and Resilience.

CONFERENCE PROGRAMME (original post here)

8:00 AM – Attendee Check In

8:30 AM – Opening Remarks – Welcome, Overview & Agenda
Trevor Murphy, DRI International
Paul Clark, Vice-President (Strategy), UCL
Joanna Faure Walker, Head of Department, UCL IRDR

8:45 AM – Global Trends in Risk and Resilience
Chloe Demrovsky and Lyndon Bird, DRI International

What are the top risks that worry resilience professionals as we emerge into a post-pandemic world? This session will open the event with an overview of how we, as members of this exciting and evolving profession, prioritize and respond to some of our biggest challenges. Based on DRI’s annual survey of nearly 500 professionals across all industries and sectors, our research shows a variety of major issues such as cyberattacks, natural disasters, and economic uncertainty. With so much to think about, what should resilience professionals focus on? This year’s predictions highlight still more potential threats on the horizon, including divided public opinions on global climate change measures, cyber vulnerabilities among major IT service providers, unprecedented flooding in the developed world, economic uncertainty in China, and much more. With so many risks at play, DRI’s President and CEO Chloe Demrovsky will provide guidance on how we can build a more resilient future together. DRI Chief Knowledge Officer Lyndon Bird will join her to discuss the latest findings on how business continuity professionals are contributing to climate-related disclosure within their organisations.

9:30 AM – Building Community Resilience through Carbon Capture Projects
Jerome Ryan, DRI International

This presentation will discuss the importance of carbon capture projects in increasing community resilience. We will highlight the benefits of these projects and explain how traditional business continuity tools like Business Impact Analysis and Risk Assessment can be updated to include climate change data. Additionally, we will present a case study on how New Orleans is utilizing blue carbon projects to increase resilience and better protect that community from future hurricanes. This presentation is designed to provide valuable insights and practical tools for individuals and organisations seeking to enhance their resilience to the impacts of climate change.

10:30 AM Morning Break 

10:45 AM – Operational Resilience on a Global Scale
Guy Gryspeerdt, Honeywell International, Inc.

Join Guy Gryspeerdt, Honeywell’s Vice President, Global Business Resilience, as he takes you down a path less traveled, his journey as a resilience professional – one full of meaningful work and meaningful relationships. Whatever the starting point in his journey, one thing is certain, he has ended up everywhere – with global responsibility for operational resilience for a multinational corporation. This session will explore the business imperative for operational resilience, problem solving and thinking models to drive business engagement, as well as how to deliver change using risk- and data-driven decision making.

11:45 AM – Lunch 

1:00 PM –Riding the Wave: Resilience Strategies for Low Probability, High Impact Events – From Academia to Practice
Gianluca Pescaroli, UCL IRDR
Fatemeh Jalayer, UCL IRDR
Ralph Toumi, Grantham Institute for Climate Change, Imperial College London
Lucie M. Green, Mullar Space Science Laboratory, UCL
Chris Needham-Bennett, Needhams 1834 and UCL IRDR

Low probability, high impact events pose significant challenges to individuals, organisations, and entire communities. These events can range from natural disasters and pandemics to cyberattacks and economic crises that can have huge ripple effects in our increasingly interconnected global economy. In this panel discussion, we bring together experts from academia and practitioners from various fields to explore resilience strategies for dealing with these unpredictable events. Our panelists will share their experiences and insights on how to build resilience and prepare for these increasingly frequent, large-scale crises. They will discuss the latest research and best practices as well as the role of collaboration, innovation, and adaptability in building resilience in the face of uncertainty. Join us for a thought-provoking discussion that will equip you with practical strategies to help you navigate the unpredictable waves of low probability, high impact events.

2:15 PM – Afternoon Break 

2:30 PM – Climate Risk and Private Sector Resilience
Cedrick Moriggi, Holcim

The private sector is facing a number of new challenges associated with complex scenarios distinguished by cascading effects and concurrencies. As many countries and enterprises now look towards this new normal, it is helpful to reflect on the distance covered so far, and to anticipate what lies ahead starting from the assumption that disruptions will happen. This session will explore the transition from crisis management to the development of a new approach more focused on the strategic role of resilience, including the adoption of new tools and roles, or changes in corporate functions.  It will include considerations on lessons learned on adapting to changing conditions, including aspects such as foresight, flexibility and data-driven decision making.

3:30 PM – To Be Announced

4:15 PM – A United Nations Perspective: From Disaster Risk Reduction to Resilience, Enhancing the Role of the Private Sector
Abhilash Panda, United Nations

We are approaching the midway point of the implementation of the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction, 2015-2030. As the first major agreement of the post-2015 development agenda (including the Paris Climate Accord and the Sustainable Development Goals), it provides Member States with concrete actions to protect development gains from the risk of disaster. It advocates for the substantial reduction of disaster risk and losses in lives, livelihoods and health and in the economic, physical, social, cultural and environmental assets of persons, businesses, communities and countries. It recognizes that while the State has the primary role in reducing disaster risk, that responsibility should be shared with local government, the private sector and other stakeholders. This session will discuss the progress with a focus on the support and activities from the private sector including through the ARISE Initiative, UNDRR’s private sector partnership.

5:00 PM – Closing Remarks
Trevor Murphy, DRI International