NEW DELHI: The ITU-UN Disaster Risk Reduction workshop, themed “Reimagining Disaster Risk Reduction: The Role of Standardization and Innovative Technologies,” kicked off yesterday as a side event at the ITU-WTSA 2024 in New Delhi. Co-organized by UNCCD, CDRI, UNDRR, and ITU, the workshop gathers experts to explore how advanced technologies can enhance disaster management while emphasising the need for deeper collaboration across sectors.
The session featured opening remarks from Dr. Neeraj Mittal, Secretary, Department of Telecommunications who said, “Today technology is converging so rapidly in terms of its capabilities, platforms and devices, that the day is not far away when maybe a single technology can do everything, that is trend I can see going forward.” On the subject of disaster mitigation, he mentioned “telecom is a horizontal technology on which all other technologies are highly dependent and therefore this is the right moment to sit down and discuss all these issues”. He further highlighted that a lot of early warning systems have been developed in India preventing a lot of disasters like cell broadcast technology which has been developed by C-DoT, only the second vendor in the world. He concluded by saying we should use all the available technologies to reduce the risk posed by disasters to humanity.
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The workshop showcased the potential of emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI), big data, digital twins, drones, remote sensing, and blockchain. Participants engaged in discussions about how these tools can enhance disaster prediction, optimise response times, and improve recovery efforts. A central focus was on the role of standardisation in integrating these innovations to boost global resilience against disasters.
Tomas Lamanauskas, Deputy Secretary-General, ITU remarked “Disasters are unfortunately increasing in both frequency and intensity. Both traditional & advanced / emerging technologies like Satellites, AI can surely help but they are also vulnerable. ITU as an organisation has a lot of activities in this regard. It is monitoring from space as well as providing for an emergency telecommunications cluster to make sure communications are working when the natural calamities hit us.”
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Concluding the workshop, participants called for collaboration to leverage new technologies and standardised approaches. They highlighted the importance of cooperation among industries, governments, and international organisations to better prepare communities for natural disasters.
The ITU-UNDRR workshop successfully brought together policymakers, disaster management experts, and representatives from global organisations, all committed to advancing the integration of technology and standardisation in building disaster resilience.