The International Day for Disaster Risk Reduction Youth Festival will take place on 13 October 2026 in Geneva as part of the week-long programme marking the International Day for Disaster Risk Reduction.
The Youth Festival will provide a dedicated, interactive platform for young people to engage with the 2026 IDDRR theme, “Resilience Starts at Home.” This theme recognizes that the home is both where disaster impacts are often most directly felt and where resilience-building must begin. It emphasizes the importance of empowering households to understand the risks they face, respond to early warnings, make informed choices, and take practical action to protect themselves and their communities.
Within this context, the Youth Festival will position young people as essential actors in bridging the “last mile” of disaster risk reduction: the point at which risk information, early warnings, and preparedness messages must translate into decisions and actions at household level. Through interactive mission stations, expert engagement, teamwork, and a final learning recap, students will explore how housing choices, risk awareness, emergency preparedness, communication, and everyday behaviours shape resilience in their homes and communities.
The mini festival will be framed around the guiding question: How can households become safer and more resilient to disasters?
The programme will combine practical, student-centred activities with opportunities for reflection and dialogue. Students will identify risks in and around the home, make decisions about preparedness and prevention, select emergency kit items for different household needs, engage with experts, and develop simple messages that they can take back to their families and schools.