They seek to capture the essence of risk in illustrated form, and include objects designed to reduce risk or represent resilience, some in tongue-in-cheek fashion.

The anti-seismic tables designed by Martino d’Esposito and the University of Art & Design of Lausanne, Switzerland, for example, are practical in that they offer protection but also contain ultra-Swiss supplies such as a fondue pan, an army blanket and a bottle of cherry liquor.

Some of the installations include objects that have been used in post-disaster situations, such as the paper partition walls developed by Japanese architect Mr. Shigeru Ban, or the resilient school desks designed by the Belazel Academy of Design in Israel.

“Art and design provide real added value for reducing disaster risk,” said Mr. Penzini.

A particular crowd-puller is a flood analysis sculpture developed by Mr. Pablo Suarez, Associate Director for Research and Innovation at the Red Cross/Red Crescent Centre in The Netherlands’ capital The Hague.

It represents flood risk in Togo in 3D data form.

“I’m a math geek, and I know data can save lives,” said Mr. Suarez.

“Disaster management’s about action, and data’s about knowledge, so we wanted to find something to bridge the gap between them. We’ve been working on creating ways to inspire the curiosity of those who are the doers of disaster risk reduction,” he said.

Date:

26 May 2017

Sources:

United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNISDR)

Themes:

Advocacy & Media, Disaster Risk Management, Social Impacts & Social Resilience

Hazards:

Earthquake, Tsunami

Regions:

Africa, Americas, Europe, Asia, Oceania