International Disaster Resilience Leaders Forum Incheon 2025 - Final Report
The International Disaster Resilience Leaders Forum Incheon 2025 (IDRLF 2025) was organized by Incheon Metropolitan City, the Incheon Institute and the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (Office for Northeast Asia and Global Education and Training Institute, UNDRR ONEA & GETI) on 29 and 30 September 2025, in Incheon, Republic of Korea, with the support of the Ministry of the Interior and Safety (MOIS) of the Republic of Korea, and in cooperation with the Trilateral Cooperation Secretariat (TCS). The annual Forum is a flagship initiative of Incheon Metropolitan City as part of its commitments as a Resilience Hub under Making Cities Resilient 2030 (MCR2030) – a UN-led global collaboration of local governments and partners committed to urban disaster resilience.
The 2025 edition of the IDRLF was conducted under the theme of “Strengthening Global Cooperation on Disaster Risk Reduction for a Sustainable Future”, with focus on advancing international collaboration and reinforcing global-local partnerships to accelerate progress under the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction (2015–2030) and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development in the final years of their implementation. Building on the outcomes and recommendations of the Global Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction 2025 (GP2025), the Geneva Call for Disaster Risk Reduction,1 as well as earlier findings from the 2023 Midterm Review of the implementation of the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015-2030,2 the Forum offered a platform for national and local leaders from around the world to share practical experience of disaster resilience in action, and discuss opportunities for strengthened cooperation, innovative partnerships and finance, and all-of-society and all-of-government approaches for disaster risk reduction (DRR) at local level.
IDRLF 2025 brought together 435 participants, including 71 leaders and representatives of national and local governments from 22 countries and 23 cities, as well as experts from academia, international and regional organizations, civil society and the private sector. Participants came from Northeast Asia, South Asia, Southeast Asia, Americas, Africa, Europe, and Middle East and North Africa (MENA). ICLEI East Asia, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH also joined the event, and supported the participation of several additional cities from their networks to help foster city-to-city learning and experience sharing.
Over the course of two days, organized along five thematic sessions and two city networking events, national and local leaders and practitioners shared experience and good practices in strengthening global cooperation for DRR across all levels of society. A special session called “Voices of the Future” offered a stage to students from universities based in Incheon Metropolitan City to share their innovative ideas and proposals for strengthened global cooperation for DRR. Throughout the sessions, participants emphasized the importance of international solidarity, city-to-city cooperation and local leadership to drive collective action towards the achievement of the goals and targets of the Sendai Framework and of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Partnerships with the private sector towards more collaborative and innovative risk reduction efforts were also highlighted across the sessions.
This report provides an overview of discussions held during IDRLF 2025.
