emi

Participants of the UNU-EHS Summer Academy, July 2007

Dr. Marqueza Reyes and Ms. Tara Ledesma, EMI's Urban Disaster Risk Reduction Specialist and Program Assistant, respectively, joined a group of young scientists and experts from around the globe in the Second Summer Academy for Social Vulnerability organized by the Munich Re Foundation and the United Nations University Institute for Environment and Human Security (UNU-EHS). The Summer Academy aimed to advance the science of social vulnerability discussion on “state of the art” research needs and strategies to address academic, policy and practical knowledge gaps.

The 2007 Summer Academy was entitled “Megacities: Social Vulnerability and Resilience Building”. The weeklong activity was filled with intensive discussions among the 28 participants and top international experts in the field of social vulnerability, as initiated by keynote lectures and each participant’s research presentation. After a small group workshop focusing on three tensions related to social vulnerability in megacities (global and local, formal and informal, & social and natural) and a role playing exercise, the main outcome of the 2007 academy was a Megacities Resilience Framework.

The outputs of the Academy can be found in the UNU-EHS Summer Academy 2007 website at http://www.ehs.unu.edu/article:368?menu=81