Program

Under the overarching theme of “Effective, Sustainable and Ethical Disaster Risk Reduction”, our program provides participants with opportunities to learn about specific aspects of multi-hazard DRR and to gain in-depth knowledge of specific approaches that enhance disaster resilience through introductory lectures and thematic sessions (e.g., discussion rounds, problem-solving sessions, tutorials). Participants will also be engaged in a proposal-writing interactive laboratory and will have opportunities to present and discuss their own ongoing work in poster sessions.

Themes of the Academy

1. Technology and Innovation in DRR
2. The ethical dimension of DRR
3. Community Resilience, Inclusion and Risk Communication
4. Crisis Leadership, Decision-Making and Insurance

Daily Schedule

Wednesday 11 February 2026: from 09:00 to 18:30

Thursday 12 February 2026: from 09:00 to 18:30

Friday 13 February 2026: from 09:00 to 13:30

DRR Academy 2026 program

Download the GuideBook

DRR ACADEMY 2026_GuideBookDownload

PLENARY SESSIONS

Wednesday morning

• Introduction to DRR Academy 2024.
  By Michele Calvello and Maria Vittoria Gargiulo (University of Salerno, Italy)
• Building a reversal impact chain to assess the potential impact of climate change on geo-hydrological hazards.
  By Guido Rianna (Foundation CMCC, Italy)

Wednesday afternoon

• Citizen Preparedness through Gamified Learning.
  Convened by Horizon Europe Project B-PREPARED (Zoltán Székely, András László Majdik)

Thursday morning

• Innovative pathways towards more resilient communities: evidence from a safety culture comparative study.
  By Gabriella Duca (ISSNOVA Foundation, Italy)
• The insurance role in managing natural hazards and DDR.
  By Francesco Lo Conti and Glauco Gallotti (LEITHA, Italy)

Thursday afternoon

• Learning Risk Through Play: Serious Games for Disaster Preparedness and Risk Communication.
  Convened by Horizon Europe Project The HuT (Maria Vittoria Gargiulo, Raffaella Russo)

PROPOSAL WRITING LAB

The Proposal Writing Lab will be organized to engage participants in structuring, pitching and defending innovative research proposals, following the Horizon Europe frameworks. The Lab will be running for the entire duration of the Academy.
By Raffaella Russo (University of Salerno, Italy) and Maria Vittoria Gargiulo (University of Salerno, Italy)

PARALLEL SESSIONS

Wednesday – slot 1

• [Theme I] Designing an Early Warning System for weather-related hazards: key components, enablers and barriers. Conveners: Gaetano Pecoraro (University of Salerno, Italy), Rosa Menichini (University of Salerno, Italy)
• [Theme II] Ethics and Transparency in AI for Disaster Risk Management: Uncomfortable Questions, Real-World Choices. Conveners: Maria Vittoria Gargiulo (University of Salerno, Italy), Michele Ronco (JRC, EU Commission)

Wednesday – slot 2

• [Theme II] Rethinking disasters in the era of AI – are we doing the right things? Conveners: Janne Parviainen (SEI Oxford, UK)
• [Theme III] From Local Knowledge to Climate Education: Building Inclusive Paths to Community Resilience. Conveners: Irene Petraroli (University of Twente, Netherlands), Elisa Nobile (IUSS Pavia, Italy)

Thursday – slot 1

• [Theme III] Financing disaster risk reduction: current trends and challenges. Conveners: Janne Parviainen (SEI Oxford, UK), Raffaella Russo (University of Salerno, Italy)
• [Theme IV] Into the field: Managing a humanitarian crisis. Conveners: Gianluca Riglietti (PANTA RAY, Italy)

Thursday – slot 2

• [Theme I] Decision-making for extreme flooding in Rimini using interoperable tools (including AI) and governance frameworks. Conveners: Lydia Cumiskey (University of Cork, Ireland), Janne Parviainen (SEI Oxford, UK), Chen Huang (NORSAR, Norway)
• [Theme IV] Training the trainer: How to develop a crisis simulation. Conveners: Gianluca Riglietti (PANTA RAY, Italy), Chen Huang (NORSAR, Norway)