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The GEM Foundation is proud to announce that Dr. John Schneider has been selected to UNISDR’s Expert Group of the Global Risk Assessment Framework (GRAF). The selection of Dr. Schneider further solidifies GEM’s collaborative partnership with UNISDR, and put GEM in a position to significantly contribute to the implementation of the Sendai Framework, the Paris Agreement and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

The establishment of the Expert Group was one of the principal recommendations of the Expert Meeting on the GRAF held in Geneva on 20-21 November 2017. The group’s initial mission is to provide guidance and direction in the co-design and collaborative development of the GRAF, including strategic, technical, functional and operational aspects. The Expert Group will guide the development and co-creation of a preliminary implementation roadmap, including the definition and possible composition of the GRAF Sub-Working Groups that will need to be established to support the co-design and development process. (UNISDR GRAF, 2018) The first meeting of the Expert Group on the GRAF was held from 13-14 June 2018 in Geneva, Switzerland.

Underscoring the importance of GRAF, Dr. Schneider expressed that it was important for the framework to feed into Sendai’s disaster risk reduction plan and global initiatives to reduce disaster losses. He added that the GRAF is needed to pull in the experiences and expertise from the around the globe, and to provide a platform for working collaboratively.

The GRAF is composed of 32 individuals from the science community, data providers, modellers and the insurance industry as well as special interest groups such as youth tasked to help UNISDR develop a holistic approach on how to better apply risk knowledge to generate practical solutions that increase resilience. More details of the first meeting can be found here. (https://www.unisdr.org/archive/58772)