Exchanging knowledge on recovery and reconstruction in the wake of the Nyiragongo volcano eruption in the Democratic Republic of Congo

This regional webinar aims to promote knowledge and experience sharing on lessons learned on recovery and reconstruction from “volcanic disasters” in Indonesia, Mexico and Japan, to contribute to the robust and resilient recovery of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) after the Nyiragongo volcano eruption.

The Nyiragongo towers 3,470 m above the cities of Goma in the DRC and Gisenyi in Rwanda. This region is part of the Virunga Mountain range, known to be among the most active in the world. The Nyiragongo volcano erupted in May 2021, just 10 km from Goma, a city in the east of the country with a dynamic and resilient population estimated at one million inhabitants.

The webinar will act as a platform for exchange, reflection and cooperation between political, scientific and civil society participants to identify key elements of a short, medium and long-term recovery-rebuilding strategy.

The event is organized by UNESCO and the Democratic Republic of Congo’s Ministry of the Environment and Sustainable Development, with panelists from The Center for Volcanology and Geological Hazard Mitigation (Indonesia), The Museum of Mount Unzen (Japan) and the National Research Institute for Disaster Risk Reduction (Mexico).