This moderated talk show brings together the expertise and initiatives of Asia-Pacific civil society organizations networks (CSOs), the Asian Development Bank (ADB) through their Community Resilience Partnership Program (CRPP) to tackle, at local level, the urgent challenges of disaster risk reduction and climate resilience in the Asia-Pacific region. The highly interactive session emphasizes the vital roles of CSOs and local leaders, especially women, in working with local and national governments and gathering international support and the private sector to bolster local level disaster and climate resilience.

Speakers will crystallize the everyday issues of local communities into a disaster and climate resilience agenda, gathering insights, commitments and inspiration for action from audiences inside and outside this partner event.

Speakers from Pacific Island countries, Nepal, and Philippines, will share authentic local voices and the strategies to better articulate and amplify them to build robust and viable partnerships that increase the chances of successful pathways to replication and scaling up of local disaster and climate resilience.

This session will focus on the consolidation of civil society organisations (CSOs) across the Asia-Pacific region, highlighting the critical role of local leadership, particularly that of women. Investing in these efforts is essential in the face of unprecedented challenges posed by disasters and the uncertainties of climate change – and to address the highly contextualized nature of climate and disaster impacts and vulnerabilities. Compelling examples will be presented to demonstrate how CSO partnerships have transformed marginalised communities into resilient and adaptive ones, especially when local leaders and governments bring their justice, creativity and courage to address pressing issues. By the end of this session, it will be clear that with the support of national and international frameworks and resources, building resilience at the local level is not only feasible, but often becomes an inevitable path to creating scalable models that generate substantial and lasting impact.