An inclusive, Safe, Resilient, and Sustainable City: Sharm El-Sheikh is Declared as a Resilience Hub within MCR2030

Sharm El-Sheikh, 12 November 2022, The United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction, Regional Office for Arab States, Sharm El-Sheikh city, and the Information and Decision Support Center (IDSC) in Egypt, celebrated the declaration of Sharm El-Sheikh as a Resilience Hub within Making Cities Resilient 2030 (MCR2030) Programme, in a side event “From Risk to Resilience: Building a Local Environment for Success” organized at the COP27, underway in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt.

The event focused on the resilience and adaptation to climate change at the local level of Sharm El-Sheikh, as a resilience hub within MCR2030, and its leadership role in the field of disaster risk reduction. It highlighted success stories and policy recommendations to inspire other local governments.

“The success of Sharm El-Sheikh is a great example for other cities in Egypt and the Arab region to learn from, and we are really glad to see Sharm El-Sheikh becoming the first African Resilience Hub in the region, following Dubai’s steps, the first resilience hub worldwide,” said Mami Mizutori, the Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General for Disaster Risk Reduction and Head of UNDRR, in her opening remarks.

The event came in support of the Egyptian government and its critical role during its presidency of the COP27, reflecting on the preparations for hosting the COP27, which included transforming Sharm El Sheikh into Egypt's first green city.

Sharm El-Sheikh as a resilience hub within MCR2030 presented its own experience in realizing this achievement and how the city plans to support other cities involved in the MCR2030 Programme in multiple areas.

Under the MCR 2030 initiative, Resilience Hubs are local authorities with an established track record in disaster risk reduction and resilience. They are committed to supporting and mentoring other Making Cities Resilient 2030 (MCR2030) municipalities.

During COP27, Sharm El-Sheikh announces its readiness to become inclusive, safe, resilient, and sustainable, contributing directly to the achievement of Sustainable Development Goal 11 “Make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable”, and other global frameworks including the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction, the Paris Agreement, and the New Urban Agenda.

The event concluded with Mizutori presenting the certificate of recognition of Sharm El-Sheikh as a Resilience Hub to Major General Khaled Fouda, the Governor of South Sinai.

Making Cities Resilient 2030 (MCR2030) is a unique cross-stakeholder initiative facilitated by UNDRR for improving local resilience through advocacy, sharing knowledge and experiences, establishing mutually reinforcing city-to-city learning networks, injecting technical expertise, connecting multiple layers of government, and building partnerships.

The initiative aims to ensure that cities are inclusive, safe, resilient, and sustainable by 2030, contributing directly to the attainment of Sustainable Development Goal 11 (SDG11) "Make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, and resilient" and other global frameworks such as the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction, the Paris Agreement, and the New Urban Agenda.