The 4th IRDR Young Scientists Lumos took place online on 4 March 2026. Themed “Indigenous Knowledge for DRR - Bridging Wisdom and Innovation,” this 90-minute online workshop highlighted how traditional knowledge systems offer deeply rooted, context-specific insights into environmental stewardship, community resilience, and disaster risk reduction.

Despite its profound value, the indigenous knowledge often remains underrepresented in mainstream DRR discourse and practice. This Lumos sought to bridge this gap by creating a platform for indigenous scholars and young professionals to share their research, showcase indigenous perspectives, and explore how traditional knowledge can be integrated with contemporary science and technology. Following a keynote speech by Professor Christine Kenney on the challenges and opportunities at the interface of indigenous knowledges and DRR, young researchers shared compelling case studies from New Zealand, Peru, and Nepal. Presenters explored topics including Southern Māori approaches to climate resilience, integrating indigenous knowledge into seismic engineering for traditional meeting houses, revisiting Aymara structures of solidarity, and engineering nature-based Bio-Dykes from traditional riverbank practices.

During the discussion, Prof. Christine Kenney and Dr. Khamarrul Azahari Razak highly praised the presentations for highlighting the core value of indigenous knowledge in community-led, nature-based disaster risk reduction. Dr. Razak emphasized that such knowledge is crucial for tackling complex future climate challenges and supporting decentralized post-disaster recovery. The interactive Q&A explored the identity challenges indigenous scholars face and strategies for integrating their knowledge into formal DRR policies. Through engaging discussions, the workshop ensured that the innovation cases and localized solutions from young professionals were visualized and acknowledged by the global DRR community.

As part of our ongoing commitment to expanding the global DRR network and empowering the next generation of researchers, IRDR is currently welcoming applications for two major initiatives:

Call for New IRDR International Centres of Excellence (ICoEs): Institutions are invited to apply to become an ICoE. Deadline: 17 April 2026. Learn more and apply here: https://www.irdrinternational.org/news/877.

Call for the 7th Batch of the IRDR Young Scientists Programme (YSP): Early-career researchers are encouraged to join the global DRR community and advance youth-led science. Deadline: 31 March 2026. Learn more and apply here: https://www.irdrinternational.org/news/872.

Speakers:

Professor Christine Kenney

Keynote Speech

Lucy Kaiser

Title: Weaving Indigenous Knowledge Systems for  Climate Resilience: Southern Māori Approaches to  Disaster Risk Reduction

Sonny Vercoe

Title: Indigenous Knowledge and Seismic Engineering Abstract

Sandra Carrasco:

Title: Revisiting Aymara Structures of Solidarity for  Climate Adaptation and Disaster Resilience in Peru

Suman Chapagain

Comments from Christine and Khamarrul

Discussion