Drawing on the outcomes of Reimagining Resilience: Collective Futures for Disaster Risk Reduction, the first global feminist conference on disaster risk reduction, held in Istanbul on 5–7 November, this press conference will bring feminist leaders and climate justice advocates together to make the case for a new approach to resilience rooted in care, prevention, collective action, and justice.

Why it matters:

As the world confronts escalating climate disasters, extreme heat, and an exceptionally strong El Niño, the systems designed to finance adaptation, build resilience, and address loss and damage remain dangerously inadequate. Resources are too often delayed, fragmented, or inaccessible to the communities facing the greatest risks. The question is no longer simply how we respond to disasters, but how we fundamentally transform the systems that create vulnerability and determine who is protected.

Who:

• Bridget Burns, Executive Director, Women’s Environment & Development Organization (WEDO)
• Mwanahamisi (Mishy) Singano, Director of Policy, WEDO
• Loretta Hieber Girardet, Chief, Risk Knowledge, Monitoring and Capacity-Development Branch, UNDRR (TBC)
• Michelle Higelin, Executive Director, ActionAid Australia
• Violet Shivutse, Global Chair, Huairou Commission Governing Council

Speakers will address:

• Collective demands emerging from the Istanbul conference
• How to advance gender-transformative DRR through policy and institutions
• The role of feminist movement-building and collective action
• Frontline realities and community-led preparedness