Prof. Saini Yang, Executive Director of the Integrated Research on Disaster Risk (IRDR) programme, delivered the keynote address at the 15th Anniversary Public Forum of the IRDR International Centre of Excellence for the Collaborating Centre for Oxford University and the Chinese University of Hong Kong (CCOUC) for Disaster and Medical Humanitarian Response (IRDR ICoE-CCOUC). The forum was held on Tuesday, 9 June 2026, under the theme “Disaster Risk and Health Resilience: Insights from Academia, Education and Practice”.
Opening Remarks: Actionable Science for Risk-Informed Governance
Prof. Emily Chan, Director of IRDR ICoE-CCOUC (Source: IRDR ICoE-CCOUC)
The Public Forum brought together researchers, educators, and practitioners to explore the critical intersection of disaster risk reduction and public health. In her opening remarks, Prof. Emily Chan, Director of IRDR ICoE-CCOUC and the newly appointed Kuok Group Professor in Global Public Health and Humanitarian Medicine, highlighted that achieving risk-informed governance requires policies and programmes shaped by a clear understanding of risk profiles and how best to manage them. She emphasised that actionable science—as promoted by the IRDR programme—is essential to driving meaningful change.
Forum Highlights: Diverse Perspectives on Disaster Risk and Health Resilience
Prof. Saini Yang addresses the Public Forum's participants (Source: IRDR ICoE-CCOUC)
In her address, Prof. Yang congratulated CCOUC on this milestone achievement and underscored the strategic relationship between IRDR and CCOUC, which was designated an IRDR ICoE during the first phase of the programme. Prof. Yang noted that CCOUC’s work directly supports the overarching Global Scientific Framework that underpins IRDR Phase II—a framework that calls for both risk-informed sustainable development and risk-informed planetary health. In this context, IRDR ICoE-CCOUC offers a unique value proposition, standing as the only IRDR ICoE dedicated specifically to disaster and medical humanitarian response.
(l-r) Dr. Chunlan Guo, Deputy Director of IRDR ICoE-CCOUC, and Prof. Emily Chan, together with the speakers and online participants take a photo together (Source: IRDR ICoE-CCOUC)
Eight additional speakers offered insights spanning hazard literacy, frontline practice, and research, reflecting IRDR ICoE-CCOUC’s ongoing commitment to accessible and inclusive knowledge exchange on disaster risk and health resilience.
Prof. Yang was accompanied by Science Officer Ms. Fang Lian, and Science and Communication Officer Ms. Kerry-Ann Morris. Also in attendance was the Chair of the IRDR Scientific Committee, Prof. Alik Ismail-Zadeh, who attended the event online.
About CCOUC/IRDR ICoE-CCOUC
Established in 2011, the Collaborating Centre for Oxford University and the Chinese University of Hong Kong (CCOUC) serves as a platform for research, education, and community knowledge transfer in disaster and medical humanitarian crisis policy development, planning, and response. CCOUC was designated an IRDR ICoE in 2016.
