Presentation

The current benchmarks show overall conditions of lower social, economic and legal acceptability related with uncertainties and the losses associated with processes and models, assigning increasing importance to proactive and preventive responses and planned actions that support strategic and tactic objectives of individuals, communities and organizations.

The International Conference - Risk, Vulnerability and Territory proposes a multilayered approach to the analysis of social vulnerability and risk related to natural and technological hazards. A multidisciplinary perspective will contribute to capture the individuals and communities’ disaster experiences and the coping strategies they activate, but also the resilience and recovery capabilities in the context of their social and political relations.

In this International Conference prestigious, national and international, researchers will produce a deep reflection about civic and institutional participation in what concerns prevention and planning about risks, and creating proactive attitudes and policies to foster social resilience to natural and technological hazards. The final results of the Research Project - Risk, Social Vulnerability and Planning Strategies: An Integrated Approach, that establishes the indicators of Portuguese social vulnerability at a national level and their validation at a regional scale, will be presented. It will also allow for a discussion on the definition and building of social vulnerability indicators and the way to increase the individual and collective recognition of potential dangers, leading to the design of new tools and models for risk assessment and management, as well as enabling new skills for civil protection and emergency and rescue institutions.

The complementary Workshop - Policies, Institutions and Strategies – The power of Risk, intend to generate innovativeknowledge about territorial planning and civil protection policies, as well as the development of legal tools that can contribute to a better definition of adequate strategies pertaining to the prevention and mitigation of the identified risks.

Confirmed participation of: David Alexander (CESPRO - University of Florence); Greg Bankoff (University of Hull, UK); Susan Cutter (University of South Carolina).