First global United Nations event on risk communication is held at Geneva

21 October 2026

The event was titled From Knowledge to Action: Communication for a Safer World.
It was held in Geneva on 14 October 2026 to mark the International Day for Disaster Risk Reduction, on the theme Resilience Starts at Home.
It was hosted at the headquarters of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies.
The event was jointly led by the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction, UNESCO and the IFRC.
Participants included disaster management authorities, media professionals and regulators, broadcasting unions, humanitarian actors and researchers.
Mariya Gabriel, UNESCO Assistant Director-General for Communication and Information, said counting how many people received a warning tells us about its reach.
UNESCO tools cited include a Model Disaster Preparedness and Response Plan for Media Institutions in eight languages and a Rapid Post-Disaster Needs Assessment survey in six.