Program

This session focuses on advancing the global commitment to Early Warning for All by strengthening end-to-end, multi-hazard early warning systems that are people-centred, inclusive, and actionable. Discussions will explore scientific advances in hazard monitoring and forecasting, impact-based forecasting, and risk communication, alongside institutional coordination and governance mechanisms.
Particular attention will be given to last-mile delivery, anticipatory action, and reaching vulnerable and marginalized populations. The session will highlight good practices, regional cooperation, and technology transfer that support national and local implementation of early warning systems in the Asia-Pacific.

This session showcases frontier innovations transforming disaster risk reduction, including artificial intelligence, machine learning, big data analytics, Earth observation, digital twins, and advanced modeling tools. It will examine how emerging technologies can improve risk assessment, preparedness, response, and recovery, while addressing challenges related to data governance, ethics, interoperability, and scalability. The session also explores pathways for translating innovation into practical solutions through partnerships among academia, startups, the private sector, and governments.

Disasters increasingly pose complex public health risks, including disease outbreaks, heat stress, mental health impacts, and disruptions to health systems. This session examines the role of science and technology in strengthening health emergency preparedness and resilience, including surveillance systems, health early warning, climate-sensitive disease modeling, and digital health solutions. The session emphasizes interdisciplinary collaboration between DRR, public health, and climate science to address biological hazards and health dimensions of disaster risk.

This session emphasizes the localization of science, technology, and innovation to ensure DRR solutions are context-specific, equitable, and socially inclusive. It highlights the integration of local and indigenous knowledge, gender-responsive approaches, disability inclusion, ageing societies considerations, and community-driven innovation. Discussions will focus on co-production of knowledge, participatory technologies, and capacity strengthening at the local level, enabling communities to act as both users and innovators of STI for disaster risk reduction.

This session addresses the growing complexity of disaster risk arising from interconnected systems, cascading failures, and compound hazards intensified by climate change and globalization. It explores scientific methods and technological tools for understanding systemic risk, including network analysis, scenario modeling, stress testing of critical systems, and cross-sector risk governance. The session aims to support risk-informed decision-making that moves beyond single-hazard approaches toward integrated and anticipatory risk management.

With rapid urbanization and increasing climate impacts, cities face escalating disaster risks. This session focuses on science-based and technology-enabled solutions for urban resilience, including climate risk modeling, heat and flood management, resilient urban design, and data-driven planning. It also explores the role of smart city technologies, nature-based solutions, and governance innovations in supporting climate adaptation and disaster risk reduction in urban and peri-urban contexts.

This session highlights the critical role of youth as innovators, entrepreneurs, and change-makers in disaster risk reduction. It explores how young professionals and startups are leveraging science and technology to develop novel DRR solutions, from digital platforms to social enterprises. The session also addresses enabling ecosystems for youth engagement, including education, mentorship, financing, and policy support, ensuring that youth perspectives are meaningfully integrated into STI-driven DRR.

This session focuses on advancing resilient, safe, and sustainable infrastructure through science and technology. Topics include risk-informed infrastructure planning, performance-based engineering, resilient lifelines, and the use of advanced materials, monitoring systems, and digital tools. The session also examines infrastructure resilience in the context of climate change, urban growth, and critical services, emphasizing the role of STI in reducing losses and ensuring continuity during disasters.

This session explores how scientific knowledge can be effectively translated into clear, actionable disaster risk communication for diverse audiences. It examines innovations in impact-based forecasting, uncertainty communication, behavioral insights, and the use of digital platforms and media. Emphasis is placed on trust, inclusivity, and last-mile delivery, highlighting how science-informed communication can support early action, community preparedness, and informed decision-making across the disaster risk management cycle.

This session introduces Japan's Cross-Ministerial Strategic Innovation Promotion Program (SIP), led by the Cabinet Office. Drawing on discussions held across two editions of the Asia-Pacific Smart Bosai Conference (APSBC), it will present what the SIP project can offer in key areas such as cross-ministerial coordination, the digital transformation (DX) of disaster risk reduction, and the development of affordable, transferable technologies for the region. The session frames SIP's experience as a set of adaptable insights, inviting dialogue on how they might apply across the Asia-Pacific region.