Rationale and Focus of the Symposium
The scale and frequency of today’s disasters demand a shift from reactive response toward a systemic model in which countries and institutions anticipate, resist and regenerate. This symposium addresses disaster risk management not as an isolated task, but as a pillar of governance and sustainability. Its central focus is on how scientific knowledge translates into effective public policy and into real capacities for disaster risk reduction and management within territories and institutions.
UPB is a reference in this field due to its internal transformation. Through the consolidation of its own Institutional Emergency and Disaster Risk Management Plan, the university integrated safety, operational continuity and resilience into its organizational culture. This internal process was not limited to the campus; it became a living laboratory. UPB’s experience demonstrates that institutional management is the first link for influencing the external environment, serving as a transferable and coherent model for other public and private organizations.
Impact on Institutions and Regions
The core of the symposium is to analyze the multiplier effect of these good institutional practices at two key levels:
* Inter-institutional Strengthening: UPB’s model offers a roadmap for universities and public and private institutions in other countries to structure their own management systems. By standardizing processes and sharing knowledge, institutional networks capable of coordinated resistance to complex crises are created.
* Regional Development: The direct impact of transferring institutional capacities is evident in the most vulnerable regions of countries. When local institutions adopt scientific risk-reduction methodologies, communities improve their territorial planning, protect their local economies, and accelerate their post-disaster recovery (regeneration).
Thematic Structure
The symposium will be organized into three working panels:
1. Knowledge to Anticipate: Governance strategies and data use for predicting physical and operational risk scenarios in organizations and territories.
2. Public Policies to Resist: Mechanisms for integrating institutional management plans with national disaster risk reduction regulations.
3. Local Capacities for Management and Regeneration: Experiences of regional resilience and recovery methodologies led by strong institutions.
Conclusion
This session at ICA 2027 will position UPB’s institutional experience as a driver of global change, demonstrating that a country’s resilience begins with the strength of its institutions.
