China

Towards Resilient Futures: Sino-Swiss Forum on Next-Generation Disaster Risk Reduction

Co-organized by Swissnex in China and East China Normal University with support from the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC), the forum will explore a comprehensive path to resilience, from analyzing threats and mapping vulnerabilities, to leveraging technology and transforming policies for proactive governance.

Climate change and rapid urbanization are amplifying the frequency and intensity of natural hazards worldwide. To build truly resilient societies, we must not only deepen our scientific understanding of these hazards but also strengthen social systems and harness advanced technologies to anticipate and reduce risks.

Switzerland and China bring complementary strengths to this challenge. Switzerland’s excellence in precision science, modelling, and environmental monitoring pairs with China’s experience in scalable solutions, community engagement, and rapid response capacity. Together, they are uniquely positioned to co-create next-generation solutions for disaster risk reduction (DRR) that integrate science, society, and technology.

The Towards Resilient Futures Forum at ECNU will gather leading experts from both countries for an afternoon of keynotes and interactive discussions. The program follows a narrative journey across four interconnected themes:

  1. Understanding Hazards – advancing scientific knowledge of extreme events
  2. Geospatial Knowledge and Community Resilience – enhancing community resilience and governance
  3. Transforming Risk Governance – sharing risk perception, communication, and policy for systemic resilience
  4. Harnessing Technology – applying data, modeling, and digital tools to reduce risk

 

Program

14:00 – 14:15     Welcome Remarks

  • Representative, East China Normal University
  • Camille Burki, Deputy CEO, Swissnex in China

 

14:15 – 15:15     Segment I – From Hazards to Social Resilience

Understanding Hazards

  • Prof. Manuela Brunner, ETH Zurich / WSL Institute for Snow and Avalanche Research SLF in Davos: Extreme water-related events in the light of climate change: floods, droughts, riverine heatwaves, and wildfires in mountain regions
  • Prof. Fubao Sun, Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research, CAS: Global Flood Risk in a Changing Climate

Geospatial Knowledge and Community Resilience

  • Dr. Justin Veuthey, University of Geneva: Social capital in disaster prevention and the evolving role of communication and technology in DRR
  • Prof. Jie Shen, Nanjing Normal University: Cartography and Geographic Information Science in disaster risk reduction

 

15:15 – 15:35     Interactive Panel & Q&A

  • Moderated discussion with the four speakers and audience engagement.

 

15:35 – 15:55     Coffee Break

 

15:55 – 16:55     Segment II – From Technology to Risk Governance

Transforming Risk Governance

  • Dr. Anna Scolobig, University of Geneva: Risk perception, communication, and decision-making: integrating social and institutional perspectives into disaster governance
  • Prof. Jun Wang，East China Normal University: Dynamic Adaptive Policy Pathways for Flood Adaptation in Shanghai under Deep Uncertainty

Harnessing Technology

  • Mathias Niffeler, Empa: DUCT: A tool for addressing urban heat islands before they occur – lessons from physics-based urban modelling
  • Prof. Jie Yin, East China Normal University: AI, big data, and early warning systems for urban resilience in the face of climate extremes

 

16:55 – 17:15     Interactive Panel & Q&A

Moderated discussion with the four speakers and audience participation.

 

17:15     Closing Remarks

 

Swiss Speakers

  •

    Bio

    Manuela Brunner

    Assistant Professor, Institute for Atmospheric and Climate Science at ETH Zurich; WSL Institute for Snow and Avalanche Research SLF in Davos

    Manuela Brunner is an assistant professor at the Institute for Atmospheric and Climate Science at ETH Zurich and the WSL Institute for Snow and Avalanche Research SLF in Davos. Before moving to Davos, she studied Geography and Climate Sciences at the University of Bern, obtained a PhD from the Universities of Zurich and Grenoble-Alpes, and did postdocs at the Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research WSL and the National Center for Atmospheric Research in Boulder Colorado. Her research focuses on extreme water-related events such as floods, droughts, riverine heatwaves, and wildfires. She studies the hydro-meteorological drivers of extreme events, develops methods for their prediction, and assesses changes in the water cycle and extremes. Her group at ETH and SLF quantifies the hazard potential and water availability in mountain regions under global change.

  •

    Bio

    Justin Veuthey

    Associate Researcher, University of Geneva

    Justin Veuthey is interested in disaster prevention: what individuals and collectivities can do to reduce the risk of catastrophes before hazards come along. He is a strong believer in the adage that “an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.” He is concerned with issues of poverty, marginalization, and social capital, while also being increasingly interested in how emerging technology is changing societies in different parts of the world. 

    Justin was a journalist for several years before getting involved in international cooperation. He has studied and worked in Europe, Asia, and the Americas. After working with the Swiss government’s humanitarian aid agency as well as small NGOs, he completed a PhD in geography focusing on how subsistence farmers in the Philippines were preparing for natural hazards. During his doctoral research he had the pleasure of living and working in remote parts of the Filipino archipelago for two years. 

  •

    Bio

    Anna Scolobig

    Senior Researcher, University of Geneva

    Dr. Anna Scolobig is a social scientist, working on environmental change, risks and disasters. With 20 years of experience on social vulnerability, climate adaptation and risk governance, her work focuses on understanding how people live with risk and on improving communication, policies and financial mechanisms to support decision making. After receiving her PhD on social vulnerability and resilience to extreme weather events at the University of Udine, Italy she conducted research for institutions in Germany, Austria, United Kingdom and Switzerland. In her work she investigates the social, cultural, political and institutional factors that influence risk related attitudes, behaviors, and governance processes. Her research also supports climate risk reduction strategies, policy and decision-making through processes that integrate technical options and stakeholder perspectives, for example to co-design risk management plans or people centered warning systems. Her work spans several countries in Europe, Asia, Andes, and Caucasus. She has recently led studies across Europe and China to explore the transformative adaptation potential of nature-based solutions. Among her professional activities, she acted as G20 European Commission (EC) expert for Science Engagement Recommendations and she has been EC contracted expert for several proposal and project review (e.g. for the European Research Executive Agency).

  •

    Bio

    Mathias Niffeler

    PhD Student, Empa

    Mathias Niffeler is a PhD Student at the Urban Energy Systems Laboratory of Empa and acts as the CTO of uuen Pte Ltd, the company behind CEA Pro, a cloud-based modelling software for sustainable urban design. Mathias dedicates his time to improving access to science-based planning and design of urban energy systems, offering policy and decision makers actionable insights for climate change adaptation and mitigation. From 2021-2024 Mathias contributed to the Cooling Singapore project, a research collaboration between ETH Zurich, MIT, Cambridge, NUS and the Singapore Management University aimed at developing the Digital Urban Climate Twin (DUCT). The DUCT is designed to help Singaporean authorities determine the effect of urban design choices on local heat islands and extreme heat events.

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