ICTs as a tool for promoting resilience and reducing risks

The WSIS Forum focuses on the role of ICTs as means of implementing, monitoring, and reviewing progress with the 2030 Agenda, as outlined in target 17.8. While ICTs can be applicable in various contexts and across sectors, special attention should be placed on their potential applications in disaster settings, conflict areas, humanitarian response, and other fragile contexts

Objectives:

The focus of this session is in line with this year’s ECOSOC Integration Segment theme of “Innovative communities: leveraging technology and innovation to build sustainable and resilient societies”, as well as that of the 21st Session of Commission on Science and Technology for Development, 3rd Multi-stakeholder Forum on STI for SDGs, and 2018 High-level political forum (HLPF) under the auspices of ECOSOC. The session’s focus on the topic of promoting resilience in communities will specifically explore the following two topics:
 

1) Assessing knowledge - understanding and communicating risk

Measuring risks in a systematic, disaggregated, and standardized way is fundamental to designing effective disaster risk reduction strategies, allocation of scarce resources, and monitoring progress. Of relevance, UNISDR recently launched the Sendai Framework Monitor (SFM) as a tool to track progress in implementing the seven targets of the Sendai Framework for DRR as well as its related dimensions reflected in SDGs 1, 11 and 13. The SFM will also function as a management tool to help countries develop disaster risk reduction strategies, make risk-informed policy decisions and allocate resources to prevent new disaster risks. The process of collecting, analyzing, monitoring, communication and responding to knowledge (both qualitative and quantitative) requires various ICTs to enhance measurement and communication tools (e.g. early warning systems).

2) Capacity Building

Gaps in access to knowledge, tools, technologies, and capacities both within-and-between countries need to be addressed through deliberate locally-driven initiatives that strengthen capabilities to set and achieve resilience targets. This is not the work of any individual organization or sector of society, rather requiring society-wide participation, good governance, strong political will, financial commitment, and inclusion. ICTs have the potential to provide both the needed infrastructure and access to knowledge, though also demand deliberate efforts to overcome digital divides, especially of marginalized groups. Capacity building can also be understood in the context of lifelong learning, promoting intergenerational and interdisciplinary efforts, and skills building to allow both the design and use of context-specific innovations.

Format: 

Each panelist will have the opportunity to introduce their work, experience, and reflections on the opportunities ICTs provide in promoting resilience in communities. They will then comment and share their view points on specific guiding questions.

In addition, we will have special innovation projects and case studies that will be presented by our guest innovators, each striving to promote capacity building in ICT applications to promote resilience.