Event Detail: “Building a Culture of Preparedness for a Sustainable Future for All” Side Event at the 13th Asia-Pacific Forum for Sustainable Development 

Date and time: 27 February 2026, 10:30 

Location: Meeting Room A, United Nations Conference Centre (UNCC), Bangkok

It is my great pleasure to be here at the side event of 13th Asia-Pacific Forum for Sustainable Development: Building a Culture of Preparedness for a Sustainable Future for All. First of all, I would like to extend my gratitude to Mr. Nishioka, representing the Government of Japan, who has been a strong advocate and supporter of this partnership, and for the trust placed in UNDP since 2017 working together for disaster preparedness and help save lives. 

Twenty-one years ago, when the Indian Ocean tsunami struck, the Asia-Pacific region learned a painful lesson: tsunamis do not wait for us to be ready. After that incident, we have also learned something else, something hopeful. Preparedness is not only about technology. It is about people. It is about culture. 

In Japan, this culture of preparedness was not built overnight. It grew from lived experience across generations. Children learn how to evacuate. Communities practise evacuation drills together. Warnings are taken seriously. History is remembered, not forgotten. The value of these efforts was clear in the rapid public response to the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake and tsunami, and again during the 2024 Noto Peninsula earthquake, when communities that moved quickly and safely. This was not a miracle. It was the result of a culture of preparedness. 

We have seen that Japan’s approach of building a culture of preparedness, works. We have seen it save lives. That is the lesson at the heart of the UNDP and Government of Japan Regional Tsunami Project. For nearly nine years, we have worked together to translate this approach for the Asia-Pacific, not as a theory, but in practice. And we have seen how it can be adapted, scaled, and sustained in Asia-Pacific. 

We started where resilience is built for the long term: in schools. Students carry knowledge home, and with them for the rest of their lives. Schools are powerful. They are trusted institutions in their communities that bring different actors together. Through UNDP’s Regional Tsunami Project supported by the Government of Japan, we worked with 800 schools to conduct tsunami evacuation drills, update their plans, and strengthen preparedness, reaching about 221,000 students, teachers, officials, and community members across 24 countries. Today, you will hear directly from teachers and a community leader who have lived this change. Their stories show that what starts in schools can change how whole communities prepare and respond. 

But experience also tells us this: impact lasts when we act at scale. That is why national action matters. When preparedness is built into policies, standards, and budgets, it reaches every school, not just a few. It becomes consistent, cost-effective, and sustainable. In Thailand, using national guidelines developed jointly with the Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation (DDPM), the Office of the Basic Education Commission (OBEC), the Thai Red Cross and UNDP schools in the six provinces, most affected by the 2004 tsunami, updated their emergency plans. In Indonesia, we facilitated for the development of a new National Safe School Roadmap. In Palau, more than 70 percent of schools updated their emergency plans, with several ministries working together. This is how we move from good practice in individual schools to lasting systems that protect every school. Today, you will also hear directly from a DPPM representative fwho has been driving this effort, and from a journalist who has helped communicate these issues to the public. 

And because tsunamis do not stop at borders, regional cooperation is essential. Early warning, education, and preparedness must work together across countries. That is why, with ESCAP, UNESCO-IOC, and UNESCO, we are developing a Regional Roadmap on Tsunami Early Warnings and Education that strengthens the link between warning systems, schools, and communities across the region.