10th meeting of Portuguese Resilient Cities Network held in Évora of Portugal
From May 22nd to 24th, the 10th Meeting of the Network of Portuguese Resilient Cities and Towns, integrated into the National Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR), took place in Évora, Alentejo region of Portugal. The event gathered over 100 participants, including political leaders and municipal Civil Protection officials, for three days of intensive discussions on resilience.
At the meeting, certificates were presented to 14 new member cities of the Making Cities Resilient 2030 initiative (MCR2030). It was also announced that the annual goal of surpassing 60 member cities was achieved in the first half of the year, with 66 cities now participating across six regions, including the autonomous regions. Notable members include Angra do Heroísmo, Funchal, Machico, Ponta do Sol, Alcácer do Sal, Évora, Grândola, Montemor-o-Novo, Odemira, Santiago do Cacém, Albufeira, Faro, Lagos, Loulé, Tavira, Almada, Cascais, Lisboa, Setúbal, Coimbra, Óbidos, Braga, Matosinhos, Porto, Viana do Castelo, and Vila Nova de Famalicão.
This meeting marked the first since the election of new coordinating cities, leading to a revised management model with six regional coordinators: Almada, Intermunicipal Community of Algarve, Funchal, Matosinhos, Odemira, and Torres Vedras. Among these, Almada, Funchal, and Matosinhos were elected as national coordinators. The coordination team outlined a three-year activity plan aligned with the Sendai Framework for Action's strategic objectives.
Discussions focused on the role of civil protection agents and support agencies in enhancing community resilience. Key issues addressed included the impact of armed conflicts, logistics chain disruptions, fake news, migratory movements, and increasingly extreme weather events. Additional topics covered were risk communication strategies for children and youth, media engagement, the importance of dedicated meteorological information in Civil Protection operations, and spatial planning for resilient city development.
It was also decided that the 11th meeting will be held in November in northern Portugal.
About MCR2030
MCR2030 is a ‘who’s who’ of international partners with unmatched expertise and experience of supporting urban resilience. The partnership has 28 MCR2030 Resilience Hubs globally, recognized global leaders in urban resilience that are increasingly active in terms of capacity building support to other local governments. Portugal has been a champion in the MCR2030 network with two Resilience Hubs and 67 cities as of 29 May 2024.