As part of a joint Pilot Project, the World Council on City Data (WCCD) and the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR) are pleased to announce the WCCD ISO 37123 certification of five exceptional cities worldwide: Ajman (United Arab Emirates), Doral (United States), Makati City (Philippines), Reykjavik (Iceland), and Vaughan (Canada).
This significant milestone empowers cities to embrace urban resilience and sets a compelling precedent for sustainable urban development globally. The five cities have demonstrated their commitment to disaster risk reduction and resilience-building by not only obtaining the WCCD ISO 37123 certification but also by joining UNDRR’s Making Cities Resilient 2030 (MCR2030) initiative. As a result of WCCD ISO 37123 certification, the cities enter MCR2030 at the highest, C level, on the Resilience Roadmap.
Through this partnership, they will actively contribute to the promotion of resilience-building practices and advance efforts to reduce disaster risk. The cities are now equipped with high-calibre data to inform Disaster Risk Reduction Roadmaps for the future safety of their citizens. In a collaborative effort to share knowledge and best practices, the WCCD and UNDRR organized a series of three webinars.
These events brought together city staff and resilience experts from around the globe with the five participating cities, engaging in productive discussions on governing structures surrounding risk and building data-driven insights for effective strategies to build more resilient cities. The webinars covered a broad range of topics, including profiling resilience in each participating city, key performance indicators for data-driven decision-making, exchanging knowledge on resilience governance structures designed to manage risk reduction, and discussing how data informs the creation of resilience roadmaps for the future.
Participants had the opportunity to learn from the experiences of Ajman, Doral, Makati City, Reykjavik, and Vaughan, as these cities shared their success stories and demonstrated how the ISO 37123 certification has accelerated their journey towards resilience. The webinars also celebrated the mobilization of these cities as part of MCR2030, highlighting the importance of international peer-to-peer collaboration in addressing disaster risk and fostering sustainable urban development.
Dr. Patricia McCarney, President and CEO of the WCCD, and Ms. Mami Mizutori, Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General for Disaster Risk Reduction and Head of UNDRR, jointly expressed their enthusiasm for the achievements of the five cities and the impact of the UNDRR-WCCD Pilot. They stated, "We extend our sincere congratulations to Ajman, Doral, Makati City, Reykjavik, and Vaughan for their strong leadership in data-driven strategy for more resilient futures. The WCCD ISO 37123 certification and participation in MCR2030 represent significant milestones in reducing risk and building more resilient cities.”
With WCCD ISO 37123 certification and participation in MCR2030, these cities have solidified their position as global leaders in disaster risk reduction, resilience, and data-driven decision-making. The WCCD and UNDRR will continue to support the cities in their resilience journeys and work closely to foster global collaboration and knowledge exchange. As cites confront evolving challenges, the WCCD and UNDRR's remain committed to promote the ISO 37123 standard and build data for more resilient urban communities.