International day for disaster reduction 2010 - Geneva, Switzerland

The 13th of October is the International Day for Disaster Reduction. To mark the Day which also coincides with the Tenth anniversary of the International Strategy for Disaster Reduction (ISDR), the UNISDR secretariat will call on all its partners to play a more active role to protect cities against disasters and encourage more mayors and citizens to join the Making Cities Resilient campaign: My city is getting ready! launched last May in Bonn, Germany.

In Geneva, the secretariat will organize a press conference at the Palais des Nations (10.00-11.00hrs) and invite all its partners, high-level Geneva officials, UN agencies and the private sector at a cocktail ceremony to:

• Acknowledge the 10th Anniversary of ISDR and the role of all partners in advancing efforts towards reducing disaster risk through implementation of the Hyogo Framework for Action by 2015;
• Support the current ISDR Campaign to more actively protect cities against disasters by joining the 'Making Cities Resilient Campaign' though compliance with the 'Ten Essentials Checklist';
• Convey a special appeal to the private sector to commit to the 'Ten Essentials' that will be presented at the next Global Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction in May 2011 in Geneva, Switzerland.