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Programme English

 Programm Deutsch

The overall theme of INTERPRAEVENT 2024 is "Natural hazards in a changing climate - How to manage risks under global warming?". The conference programme is divided into six thematic sessions, dealing with the main natural hazard processes. In addition, the conference sets a focus on cross-cutting issues.

This year, INTERPRAEVENT 2024 offers: 

• 10 thematic sessions including 1 student session (Student Award)
• 1 high-level panel discussion
• 2 poster sessions (Poster Walk)
• 5 workshops
• exhibition area
• several side and social events

Altogether, participants will await 46 inspiring and trailblazing oral presentations from science to practice, 7 high-level keynote speakers, 1 panel discussion with 7 outstanding panellists and 5 workshops focused on the main topics organised by different experts.

Day by day online Programme:

• Day 1: Monday, 10 June 2024
• Day 2: Tuesday, 11 June 2024
• Day 3: Wednesday, 12 June 2024
• Field Trips and Post-Conference Excursion, 13 June I 14-16 June 2024

Join us for the panel discussion on the conference topic „How to manage risks under global warming?“. The panel discussion will take place on Monday, 10 June 2024 from 17:00 to 18:30.  

The invited high-level panellists come from various professional backgrounds and represent different institutions. After an introduction and discussion between the panellists, conference participants will be able to contribute and ask questions.

The moderation will be carried out by:

• Thomas GLADE, University Professor at the Departement of Geography and Regional Research at the University of Vienna in Austria

The follwing high-level panellists can be expected:

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INTERPRAEVENT 2024 places great emphasis on the promotion of women working in the fields of natural hazard and risk management. In cooperation with the international network Women Exchange for Disaster Risk Reduction (we4DRR), INTERPRAEVENT 2024 offers a programme for networking and exchange between women.

Activities

All women attending INTERPRAEVENT 2024 are actively encouraged to participate in this programme. It is not necessary to be a member of we4DRR^* or to make a scientific contribution at the conference. The following networking activities are offered:

• All participants at INTERPRAEVENT 2024 are invited to the Impulse Lecture “Gender in DRR – Why bother?” on 11 June during the conference’s lunch break from 13:15 - 14:15. More details below.  
  
• We4DRR invites all female conference participants to the Women Networking Event on 12 June from 17:45 - 22:00 at the Dachsaal of the Wiener Urania. Programme and more details Programme and more details.
• Informal networking and meeting during the conference and connecting through the we4DRR LinkedIn account: https://www.linkedin.com/in/we4drr/

Impulse Lecture

"Gender in DRR – Why bother?" at INTERPRAEVENT 2024

Date: 11 June 2024 | Time: 13:15 - 14:15 | Location: “Künstlerzimmer”

The Impulse lecture “Gender in DRR – Why bother?” as part of the Women’s Programme at INTERPRAEVENT 2024 will feature short talks on female contributions to Interpraevent by Niki Beyer Portner as well as on the role of Gender in DRR by Karin Weber. Inspired by the presentations, there will be lots of time for lively exchange and discussion with all participants. 

Niki Beyer Portner is a long-term Interpraevent STAB member and is active in the network women exchange for Disaster Risk Reduction (we4DRR) Steering Committee. She studied civil engineering at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne and has been working in the field of numerical modelling for flood risk assessment and flood risk reduction for nearly 20 years. Currently, Niki is responsible for projects concerning surface runoff risk reduction.

Karin Weber is a research fellow at BOKU University, Vienna, Institute of Landscape Planning. She is currently finalising her PhD on social aspects of DRR in Austria. In the ACRP project CCCapMig, she explored the topic of target group-orientated risk communication, and has researched the topics of natural hazard management and climate change adaptation in several projects (EXTEND, ALPGov). Karin is also a member of the we4DRR network’s organisation team.

The Impulse lecture will take place on Day 2 of the conference during the lunch break (13:15 - 13:45 Short talks, 13:45 - 14:15 Discussion) in the “Künstlerzimmer” and welcomes all conference participants to join.

Contacts:

• Women exchange for Disaster Risk Reduction (we4DRR): This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
• Michaela Teich, Department of Natural Hazards, Austrian Research Centre for Forests (BFW): This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

*If you would like to join the exchange network for women working in research and policy or as practitioners in the field of natural hazards and disaster risk reduction, please send an email to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

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Global warming and its massive impact on natural disasters is one of the uncomfortable realities of our era. At the same time, human influence on nature and the environment, as a result of unrestrained land use and progressive land consumption has led to an exponential increase in the risk of damage from natural hazards. This global trend is even intensified in fragile mountain regions such as the Alps. Traditional concepts of hazard prevention or disaster management are no longer sufficient in the present, global climatic change requires sustainable adaptation processes for the protective system. Natural hazard engineering with its classical instruments of hazard planning, monitoring of hazard processes as well as technical and engineer-biological protective measures also requires systematic further development, on the one hand in the direction of holistic protection concepts, on the other hand in the direction of nature-based solutions. The perceptible limits of technical protection require a consistent analysis of extreme events and residual risk.

To address this issue the next international interdisciplinary conference INTERPRAEVENT 2024 will focus on “Natural hazards in a changing climate” with the guiding question: “How to manage risks under global warming?”

Natural hazard processes

The main focus of the conference is on the folllowing natural hazard processes

• debris flows
• floods (fluvial and pluvial)
• forest fires
• landslides (including rockfall)
• snow avalanches

Special attention is paid to the effects caused by climate change, for example extreme weather events, heatwaves and droughts or heavy precipitation on the natural hazard processes.

Furthermore, the following topics related to the natural hazard processes will be considered: glacier and permafrost related risks, erosion and sediment related disasters, cascading events, storm events and protective function of forests.

Sessions

The INTERPRAEVENT 2024 will be organized as a scientific-technical conference with six thematic sessions:

• 1) Climate Change: Drivers, Triggers and Consequences
• 2) Risk Governance, Policies and Resilience
• 3) From Observations and Experiments to Modelling and Simulations
• 4) Hazard and Risk Assessment
• 5) Structural and Non-Structural Mitigation Measures
• 6) Emergency Management and Recovery

Supporting the next generation of scientists and engineers is an important task of the INTERPRAEVENT research society. Hence, INTERPRAEVENT 2024 offers a special student programme during the conference, comprising

• the Student Award (with a specific student session)
• a follow-up workshop for students “Science Day” at the University of Vienna
• scientific coaching at the conference by members of Scientific and technical advisory board, and
• special fees for a limited number of students.

Science Day

A follow-up workshop will be organised on the 13 June 2024 at the University of Vienna, called the “INTERPRAEVENT Science Day”. The Science Day will offer the participating students the opportunity to summarise and debrief the results of the INTERPRAEVENT 2024 conference, and to evaluate the gained knowledge for their individual academic education together with leading experts. Several key topics of the conference will be discussed in parallel disciplinary workshops. Furthermore, the interdisciplinary exchange and networking with experts and other students from several countries will be promoted. The science day will be held in English. A confirmation of participation will be issued including ECTS. There are no additional costs for the participation at the Science Day.

Preparations are progressing and the first details of the Science Day have been set.

When: Thursday, 13 June 2024, starting at 8:30

Where: New Institute Building (NIG) of the University of Vienna, Universitätsstraße 7, 1010 Vienna

After a joint welcome, the Science Day is divided into four different workshops, covering selected main topics of the conference. Workshops A, B and C are offered alternately, allowing students to attend two different workshops. Workshop D is GIS-based and will take place throughout the day. This group will not rotate. The day will conclude with take-home messages and a short career field presentation from the experts. Afterwards, the NIG rooftop provides a relaxed atmosphere for networking and exchanging ideas over snacks and drinks.

Overview of the preliminary programme:

 Programme overview download

For details regarding the sessions and speakers, please go to Thematic Session-Programme