As part of the Culture × El Niño initiative launched by UNESCO to help countries prepare for the potential impacts of El Niño on the culture sector, a series of regional webinars was organized from 2 to 5 October for culture and heritage professionals and national authorities in Latin America and the Caribbean, Africa and the Asia-Pacific region. The webinars raised awareness of readily available tools and introduced a new self-assessment tool to help identify preparedness measures to protect culture in all its forms before the expected peaks of El Niño-related hazards.
More than 530 participants from 46 countries joined the webinars, including 11 Small Island Developing States. The participants, two thirds of them women, represented national culture authorities, natural and cultural World Heritage sites, museums, cultural events, universities and civil society organizations.
The webinars opened with a video message from UNESCO Director-General Khaled El-Enany, who recalled that the 2026-2027 El Niño will affect every aspect of UNESCO’s mandate and stressed the need to turn early warning into early action for greater resilience. It was followed by opening remarks by Krista Pikkat, Director of the Culture and Emergencies Entity.
How El Niño will play out locally is still uncertain: the same event can bring heavy rainfall and landslides to one area, and drought and fire to another. But uncertainty is not a reason to wait. It is a reason to prepare. Preparedness is where we can make the greatest difference: measures taken before a hazard arrives protect both people and heritage, at a fraction of the cost of response.
Krista Pikkat, Director, Culture and Emergencies Entity, UNESCO
The sessions featured presentations and resources from UNESCO and key partners, including the UN Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR), ICCROM, ICOM and Smithsonian Institution, sharing regional outlooks and expertise in integrating culture into early warning systems.
