Israel partners with the MCR2030 initiative to bolster resilience efforts
The State of Israel has joined the MCR2030 initiative as a supporting entity. MCR2030 is UNDRR’s flagship program, building on the achievement of the Making Cities Resilient Campaign that began in 2010. It welcomes cities, local governments, and all parties who wish to support cities along the resilience roadmap.
Israel is represented in the initiative by the National Emergency Management Authority (NEMA), Home Front Command (HFC), the Federation of Local Authorities and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Mr. Kobi Wimisberg, Director of Strategic Cooperation and Assistance Division at NEMA, said "The Government of Israel sees the local authorities as the ´founding block´ for societal resiliency. Therefore, we understand the advantage of Israel's partnership with UNDRR and MCR2030 that will increase our knowledge and will enable to share our experience with the international community. I believe that this cooperation will be tremendously beneficial in the spirit of the United Nations”
Mr. Octavian Bivol, Chief of the Regional Office for Europe and Central Asia commenting on the announcement said, “I welcome this important development which strengthens the partnership between the State of Israel and UNDRR on reducing disaster disk at the local level and in the context of broader action to enhance resilience at all levels”
Israel is joining the initiative following increased collaboration with UNDRR on preparedness, reducing risk, and building resilience. As a supporting entity, Israel has demonstrated a commitment to strengthen efforts on local resilience to help cities in the country be better prepared and join a vast network of cities worldwide, where the Israeli experience and knowledge can be shared.
The past few years have seen fruitful collaboration between Israel and UNDRR around reducing disaster risk. Israel is a member of UNDRR’s Support Group in Geneva and works in close collaboration with UNDRR’s Regional Office for Europe and Central Asia in Brussels. In April 2020, UNDRR, NEMA, MFA, WHO organized a Member States Dialogue on “Prevention Saves Lives: COVID19 Pandemic: Sharing Experiences”. In addition to this, Israel participated in the European Forum for Disaster Risk Reduction earlier this month, including by contributing to the plenary session on “COVID-19 and Systemic Risk in Europe”, where Prof. Salman Zarka, Israel’s COVID-19 Czar, participated as a panelist. Moreover, Israel has announced an unearmarked monetary contribution to UNDRR, joining as a new donor of the organization.
This is the beginning of a new collaboration, and UNDRR welcomes the new MCR partner on the road towards better resilience.
Background
MRC2030 is a unique cross-stakeholder initiative for improving local resilience through advocacy, sharing knowledge and experiences, establishing mutually reinforcing city-to-city learning networks, injecting technical expertise, connecting multiple layers of government, and building partnerships. Through delivering a clear roadmap to urban resilience, providing tools, access to knowledge, and monitoring and reporting tools, MCR2030 will support cities on their journey to reduce risk and build resilience.