Building on the success of the Barcelona Resilience Experience in February 2015, UN-Habitat’s City Resilience Profiling Programme, the BCN Urban Resilience Partnership, and the City Council of Barcelona hosted the Barcelona Resilience Week, a global platform for discussion and learning between leading cities and companies working to build more resilient communities all over the world.
The Barcelona Resilience Week has become an international event to share experiences, pool ideas, network and inspire experts, leaders, local governments, companies, research centres, international organizations and academia to continually develop initiatives on urban resilience.
The 2016 edition recorded its best-ever figures with 372 registered participants, 101 speakers, technical and political representatives from 41 international cities, all of them coming to discuss the latest thinking on urban resilience.
Moreover, this year’s event provided more spaces for interaction, that could offer attendees the chance to create new contacts, develop partnerships and foster networking opportunities between cities, companies with extensive experience in implementing resilience projects and experts coming from international institutions.
While covering a wide range of topics, from water management and disaster-proof urban infrastructures to multi-stakeholder collaboration frameworks and social resilience, the event featured a variety of sessions, such as:
- High-level panel discussions focused on major current-affairs such as the impact of the migratory crisis or the effects of climate change.
- Parallel sessions delving into the most practical aspects of the implementation of resilience projects and initiatives through the presentation of case studies and specific projects.
- City network meetings aimed at promoting the exchange of good practices and fostering city-to-city alliances and initiatives.
- Site visits, which offered a unique opportunity to experience first-hand how Barcelona is strengthening its capabilities to become more resilient to a slew of threats.
Ultimately Barcelona Resilience Week gave voices to connect cities, while providing the opportunity to learn about ground-breaking resilience topics, to present, share and exchange experiences and best practices, and to gain practical knowledge.
