The 11th i-Rec conference (workshop, student competition and fieldwork) explores processes, actors, initiatives, and decisions in three main areas: disaster risk reduction, climate action, and post-disaster reconstruction. The event, titled (in)formalities, recognizes that multiple forms of agency with different levels of legitimacy, influence, and recognition coexist and must be understood and coordinated to produce positive, sustainable change.
The 2025 edition of the i-Rec conference seeks to understand relationships between top-down and bottom-up actions, and different forms of “formality” and “informality” in decision-making processes, governance structures, and institutions. We will reveal the actions of regular citizens, civil society groups, and communities in the face of risk and examine the relationships between them and the decisions, projects, policies, and plans made by governments, international institutions, and humanitarian and development agencies.
Activities include several platforms for experts and practitioners to discuss the implications of post-disaster reconstruction, deep-rooted vulnerabilities, climate-related risks, and recovery processes and to draw upon lessons learned in one of the most hazard-exposed countries in the world. It will also explore the consequences of conducting activities in both formal and informal urban settings, offering valuable insights applicable to numerous disaster-prone regions worldwide.
The event includes keynote conferences, paper presentations, workshops, round tables, and a one-day fieldwork in one of the informal settlements of Valparaiso affected by wildfires in 2024. In this way, the conference seeks to bring together academia, practitioners, and local community leaders in fruitful dialogues and spaces for co-creating new knowledge.
More information about abstract submission and registration here : https://www.i-rec2025.cl/
To know more about the student competition: http://membresirec.umontreal.ca/student_competition/11th/