A resilience summit is a conference or gathering focused on building resilience. Resilience refers to the ability to withstand and bounce back from difficulties or adversity. Resilience summits bring together various stakeholders such as community leaders, nonprofit organizations, businesses, and government agencies to collaborate on strategies for building resilience.
Why are resilience summits held?
Resilience summits are held for several key reasons:
- Raise awareness – Resilience summits help raise awareness about the importance of building resilience and the various factors that contribute to it.
- Network and collaborate – They provide a platform for various stakeholders working on resilience issues to network, share knowledge and best practices, brainstorm solutions, and collaborate on joint initiatives.
- Develop strategies – Participants can develop comprehensive strategies and plans for enhancing resilience across different sectors like health, environment, economy, infrastructure, social services, etc.
- Commit to action – Summits allow participants to make public commitments to resilience building actions and initiatives that their organizations will undertake.
- Highlight progress – Summits also help highlight the progress made on resilience efforts since previous summits and assessments.
Who participates in resilience summits?
Resilience summits convene a wide range of participants including:
- Government agencies and elected officials
- Community organizations and nonprofits
- Grassroots community leaders and activists
- Businesses and business associations
- Philanthropic foundations and donors
- Faith-based organizations
- Academic institutions and think tanks
- Healthcare systems and providers
- Mental health professionals
- Emergency management and homeland security professionals
Having diverse stakeholders participate allows for collaborative resilience planning across different sectors.
What topics are covered at resilience summits?
Resilience summits typically involve discussions, workshops, planning sessions, and presentations on various topics related to building resilience. Some common topics include:
- Assessing community vulnerabilities and risks
- Improving physical and psychological health resilience
- Strengthening social connectedness
- Enhancing community engagement and unity
- Developing sustainable and diversified economies
- Upgrading infrastructure systems
- Preparing for and recovering from disasters
- Addressing inequality and improving access to opportunity
- Applying resilience thinking in urban planning and development
- Building partnerships for resilience across sectors
What types of activities happen at resilience summits?
Some common activities at resilience summits include:
- Keynote speeches – Featured keynote speakers help set the stage for discussions on various resilience issues.
- Panel discussions – Panels of experts hold interactive discussions that attendees can participate in through Q&A sessions.
- Success story presentations – Presentations highlight successful resilience programs and initiatives.
- Workshops and training sessions – Interactive sessions provide hands-on training for building skills and capabilities.
- Networking – Networking opportunities allow participants to share information and form collaborations.
- Exhibits and demonstrations – Exhibits display resilience programs and technologies, while demonstrations show them in action.
Some summits may also have arts and cultural resilience-themed performances and events.
What are some key outcomes from resilience summits?
Some potential outcomes and results generated through resilience summits include:
- Enhanced awareness and education – Through presentations, discussions and exhibits on resilience issues.
- New connections and partnerships – Bringing together diverse stakeholders fosters new collaborative relationships.
- Identified priorities and action agendas – Strategic planning processes determine key priority areas for improving resilience.
- Commitments to action – Organizations and individuals make public commitments to launch resilience initiatives.
- Policy, system and environmental changes – Summits can catalyze advocacy and changes to programs, policies, regulations and built environments.
- Funding and resource allocation – Spotlighting needs through summits helps guide funding and investments into resilience activities.
- Innovative initiatives – Creative concepts and pioneering pilot projects may emerge from the collaborative environments of summits.
Examples of resilience summits
Here are some examples of well-known resilience summits:
- 100 Resilient Cities Summits – The 100 Resilient Cities organization holds global summits where member cities share resilience strategies. Summits have been held in cities like Paris, Bangkok and The Hague.
- Asia-Pacific Resilience Summit – Annual summits coordinated by the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum focused on resilience against disasters, climate change and economic risks.
- National Health Security Preparedness Index Summit – Annual summits hosted by the NHSPI program of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the University of Kentucky, highlighting data on US health resilience.
- Resilience Dividend Valuation Model Summits – Global summits led by ICSU, UNISDR and Rockefeller Foundation, on applying the RDM tool to inform resilience investment decisions.
- Urban Resilience Summit – Hosted by the UN and World Bank, this summit has convened mayors and governments to develop urban resilience strategies.
- Annual Community Resilience Summit – The Community and Regional Resilience Institute holds an annual summit highlighting best practices in building community resilience.
Case Study: Greater Miami & the Beaches Resilience Summits
One instructive example of an impactful regional resilience summit is the series of Resilience 305 Summits organized in Greater Miami & the Beaches region of Florida. The summits bring together over real estate, business, government, healthcare and community leaders to plan for resilience challenges facing the region such as sea level rise, housing affordability, and an aging population.
The first summit in 2017 focused on assessing regional risks and vulnerabilities as well as strengths and assets. Participants collaborated to create a baseline evaluation of regional resilience across areas like society, economy, infrastructure, and environment. Over 100 initiatives were also proposed to build resilience.
The second summit in 2018 developed a Resilience Action Plan centered around five main goals:
- Become a global model for adaptation
- Build equitably for all generations
- Foster informed, empowered communities
- Develop integrated, intelligent infrastructure
- Enhance collective climate leadership
The plan outlined over 70 specific actions and objectives under these goals. Participants made voluntary commitments to support implementing the plan.
The third summit in 2019 focused on turning the plan into action. Community leaders reported back on their progress and commitments. New commitments were also made, under five categories: communications, continuity, partnerships, finance, and innovation. For instance, a Resilience Innovation Grant was launched by the City of Miami Beach and funded by the Rockefeller Foundation.
The Resilience 305 summits have helped generate momentum, alignment, and accountability around advancing resilience regionally. The collaborative model has been recognized as a best practice among US city resilience programs.
| Year | Theme and Focus | Outcomes |
|---|---|---|
| 2017 | Assessing regional risks, vulnerabilities, strengths and assets. Developing baseline evaluation. | Over 100 proposed resilience initiatives |
| 2018 | Creating Resilience Action Plan with 5 key goals and 70+ actions | Voluntary commitments to support plan made by participants |
| 2019 | Turning plan into action – reporting back on commitments, making new pledges | New commitments made under 5 categories, Resilience Innovation Grant launched |
This case study illustrates the role an ongoing regional resilience summit can play in catalyzing planning, collaboration, commitments and measurable actions to enhance resilience.
Conclusion
Resilience summits provide a valuable mechanism for diverse stakeholders to jointly assess risks and vulnerabilities, develop solutions, align around shared goals, and drive measurable actions to enhance resilience. They generate awareness, collaboration, innovation and accountability critical for communities to withstand, adapt, and transform in the face of modern day challenges. Resilience summits have become an instrumental component of resilience strategies for leading global cities, businesses, communities and regions.