What #EURESFO23 thematic stream will you explore?
18. October 2023
Opening Plenary Day 1
Reflecting on 10 years of resilience building in European cities and regions
We look back to 2013 when the had the first Open European Day. What happened since then? How has the situation changed in the cities that have been frontrunners at that time? What has been achieved and what are still challenges or new challenges. How do we need to move on?
Parallel Sessions day 1 (part 1)
Planning for extreme heat: How can cities beat the heat?
Addressing the urban heat challenge requires multi-faceted solutions that span urban planning, policy and governance changes, technological innovations, community engagement, among other. As climate change continues to manifest, the impacts associated with urban heat are expected to become even more pressing and, therefore, city governments are called to act now. This session brings together a panel of expert urban practitioners, including Chief Heat and Resilience Officers.
How do Ukraine cities maintain the ambition for sustainable development?
Ukrainian cities, much like their European counterparts, are dedicated to pursuing sustainable and resilient development. They face the challenges of coping with the ongoing impacts of war, alongside a diverse range of crises, including heatwaves, flooding, rapid urbanization, pandemics etc. We will hear and learn from Ukraine cities, explore their challenges and how they align with those of other European cities. The discussion on how to move forward will continue in an engaging panel format.
What is resilience in practice: the past and the future
How did European regions approach resilience in the past until today? And how does the future of resilience in regions look like? In this session, participants will have the opportunity to exchange knowledge and ideas on the past and future of resilience with regions and institutions working in the field. The discussion will be based on the guiding questions and focused on topics relevant to the regions and the audience.
Parallel Workshops
What does resilience-building entail for a regional government? An interactive workshop towards a comprehensive assessment framework
This workshop aims to discuss how best to evaluate resilience building processes at regional level. An interactive format will facilitate discussions between resilience experts and regional representatives, addressing key issues such as: the influence of regional governance structures and competences on resilience building; the meaning of "Resilience Maturity" considering regional contexts and priorities; the comprehensiveness of a proposed framework developed under the Regions4Climate project.
Towards resilient and well adapted coastal areas - addressing needs and challenges of cities through the use of digital tools and data analysis
This workshop session will promote the discussion on threats faced by coastal cities in relation to climate change and explore the applications of digital tools and data analysis on sea level rise projections for the identification of future challenges. Cities will identify possible solutions by analysing the benefits of nature based solutions, restoration and conservation measures, policy making and planning strategies. Users’ needs and functionalities of climate services to support long term decision making will be showcased.
Unveiling the Power of Nature-based Solutions for Equitable, Green, and Healthy European Cities
This session focuses on advancing the role of NbS as a transformative approach for urban resilience. Participants interact on how to develop NbS focused pathways, by integrating spatial assessment and decision-making tools into planning processes. A framework for a holistic valuation of NbS will be presented, fostering holistic urban planning. The session also emphasizes community needs alignment through stakeholder engagement, co-creation, and educational efforts.
Parallel Sessions day 1 (part 2)
Europe has a Mission: a journey towards European resilience has begun
By raising provocative questions on the last two years of action and the current challenges and ambitions for resilience, the session aims to shed a light on the most relevant developments and opportunities, lessons learned and open questions to accelerate the just and resilient transition in Europe.
Building societal resilience: Innovations in architecture and landscaping for climate adaptation
The adaptation of buildings and public spaces will be increasingly necessary in a changing climate. When we design for the future we need to think about insulation and ventilation, but also the integration of vegetation and water in urban spaces as well as the societal resilience of neighbourhoods. In this workshop, we invite you to join us in exploring how we can use methods from design and architecture to create urban habitats which allow communities to work, live and thrive within the planetary boundaries in a European and a global context!
AI and data-driven climate innovation for more smart and resilient cities
This session aims to leverage the importance of AI and data driven applications to support cities in achieving their climate neutrality goals while adapting to the effects of climate change. We will hear from cities and core industry players, how AI is bringing a whole branch of new solutions that could accelerate climate action on a local level.
Closing Plenary Day 1
The EURESFO23 journey has started: reflections on day 1
This plenary session aims to bring reflections about the topics discussed during the first day of EURESFO23, highlighting recurring key messages from the different thematic streams. It will bring to the stage experienced resilience makers, innovators and providers that are assigned a role as observers throughout the different activities of the forum.
19. October 2023 - RESILIENCE INVESTMENT AND FINANCING FORUM
Opening Plenary Day 2
MCR2030 Disaster Risk Financing Roundtable - Financing a transition towards climate resilience
The Disaster Risk Financing Roundtable will offer a space for discussion and exchange of experiences from cities, financial service providers and investors and stakehoders on the implementation of disaster resilience plans and projects. Bringing together cities and actors from across Europe and its neighbourhood engaged in the Making Cities Resilient 2030 initiative, the Roundtable will explore challenges and opportunities in mobilising funding for building resilience to shared and contextual challenges of cities in the region. The Roundtable will provide a space to hear stories and experiences, and allow for a discussion with the participants of EURESFO 2023.
Parallel Sessions day 2 (part 1)
Nature-Positive Economy & Financing: Navigating Ecosystem Restoration and Private Investment
Advocate integrating the nature-positive economy into strategic planning, funding, research, incentives. Accelerate impact on sustainable development, distinct from circular and bioeconomies. Join our session for insights on harmonising economics with nature, prioritising restoration, private finance, innovative financing, overcoming barriers.
Facilitating Climate Adaptation through Risk Insurance: Community led Decision Making Process for Urban Resilience
This session aims to highlight the impact of community based urban resilience assessments in developing impactful risk insurance solutions for climate adaptation. The session will shed the light on key lessons learned from the program previous experiences in rural settings, as well as the challenges and opportunities for transferring this knowledge into urban settings.
MATCHMAKING - Urban Resilience Solutions Pitch Session
This event aims to upscale and increase the impact of innovative and sustainable solutions. Cities and regions will have the opportunity to hear from solution providers on how their solution can be effectively utilised by cities and regions to respond to resilience and adaptation challenges.
Parallel Sessions day 2 (part 2)
How to finance smart and climate-resilient projects
This workshop aims to share experiences from different stakeholders on how to design bankable climate adpataion and resilience projects, which rely and use smart technologies, data driven approaches and modelling capabilities.
Leveraging local powers, assets and revenue streams to create „bankable“ investment propositions
Participants will engage in a facilitated exercise to explore financing alternatives for selected adaptation project cases. Options for financing will consider both internal local government funding options and the leveraging of local powers, assets and revenue streams, and external private finance options. Through this exercise the session will consider the evolving landscape of adaptation investment sources and instruments. It will identify ways to bridge the gap between the local adaptation plans and project concepts and the necessary portfolios of financed projects that are generally required to build true local climate resilience.
MATCHMAKING (part 2) - the Gap Fund
This session will equip participants with the understanding and tools to access technical assistance for climate finance. By introducing the Gap Fund application and review process, as well as featuring lessons learned from cities in Eastern Europe and Central Asia, the session will empower cities to develop fundable climate projects that advance both local and global climate goals.
Study visits
#EURESFO23 will offer all participants the opportunity to choose between 5 study visits!
Where will you explore? Check out the opportunities here.
20. October 2023
Parallel Sessions day 3 (part 1)
Designing Resilient, Climate-Neutral Cities: District-focused Innovations
This practical and interactive session brings together representatives from cities to share their experiences, challenges, and successes in implementing solutions and driving climate neutrality at a district level. Through panel discussions and real-life case studies, participants will gain practical insights into the strategies and actions taken by cities to advance climate neutrality and enhance the resilience and liveability of their communities. A key question explored will be: How can district-level implementation be upscaled for broader city transformation?
Resilient power: Cities rethinking the future of energy infrastructures
The increasing occurrence of nature-based extreme events is causing serious damage to critical infrastructures and urban assets. Their frequency and scale are worsening, threatening the safety and quality of life of our communities. In this session cities and stakeholders of the Urban Transitions Mission will delve into the future climate scenarios in Europe and their implication for the resilience of urban infrastructures and the energy system. Policy makers, experts and IPCC scientists will discuss how data-driven climate scenarios and tools can help cities in identifying climate risks, avoid lock-ins and roll-out innovative responses to these threats.
Imaginging a resilient urban future: what does success look like?
While many cities are pushing ahead with the implementation of adaptation strategies, it is still difficult to assess what is really working, and where we should be headed. In this workshop, we will explore what ‘success’ actually means in terms of societal resilience in an urban context. Can targets be set to work towards, and what role does nature have to play in this?
Parallel Sessions day 3 (part 2)
Data-driven Retrofits: Upgrading to Climate Resilient Buildings
How can data be used to make our existing buildings more resilient to the evolving climate emergency? In this session, attendees will hear from a panel of speakers ready to discuss their discoveries and possible solutions to further accelerate the pace of building retrofitting across Europe. Standing in the way of that transformation however, is an array of meteorological, sociocultural and technical challenges.
How VLRs Contribute to Urban Resilience
Key to the successful localization of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development is the monitoring, evaluation, and reporting process of development policies, and generation of sustainable and investable projects, and initiatives that cities undertake. The aim of this session is to discuss challenges and opportunities for achieving urban-related Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), through the integration of Voluntary National Reviews (VNRs) and Voluntary Local Reviews (VLRs) applied to Urban Resilience.
Scaling Up NbS: Are We Ready to Unleash Nature's Full Potential?
Effectively addressing the adverse impacts of climate change demands a substantial upscaling of Nature-Based Solutions (NbS). This session focuses on the cornerstones that underpin the upscaling process of NbS, emphasizing standardization procedures, ground-breaking research, policy frameworks, and the successful execution of NbS projects, all contributing to the global expansion of NbS initiatives.
closing plenary
Closing remarks for #EURESFO23
Drawing on the discussions from the three days of the forum, the final plenary session aims to bring to the audience the main reflections around the central EURESFO23 question: What is needed to help local and regional governments address resilience challenges towards 2030 and beyond?