Governing Climate Risk: how do Port City Leaders Decide?

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November 5, 2026 • 11h00 - 12h00

Port cities face compounding climate risks: rising seas threaten both port infrastructure and adjacent urban areas, while extreme weather events increasingly disrupt trade and daily life alike. This session, will explore how port authorities and cities can move from fragmented risk management to integrated resilience strategies covering infrastructure design, early warning systems, and long-term adaptation planning.

Gaëtan SIEW

Special Envoy
UN HABITAT

Past President of the International Union of Architects, and Past Secretary General of the African Union of Architects. He is an avid world traveller, experiencing over 500 cities across 105 countries including most of Africa. He has worked on national projects for various Governments on the African Continent, namely, Benin, Cote d’Ivoire, Ghana, Madagascar, Mauritius, Mozambique, Senegal, Seychelles, Swaziland. For his contributions to the Architectural and Urban world, he was awarded several honorary membership and fellowships, and elevated to the rank of Grand Officer of the Order of the Star and Key of the Indian Ocean by the Government of Mauritius, and elevated to the ranks of Chevalier de l’Ordre National du Mérite, and de l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres by the French Republic. In-depth understanding of men, cities and global issues. Board Director of Futures Cities UK since July 2013. Past Chairperson of State Land Development Company (Smart Mauritius), Current Chairman of Construction Industry Board since 2015. While operating his Architectural practice in Mauritius, he acts as an educator for various universities in France and China, and travels the world to animate conferences on how to build a more resilient world. To further his contributions to society, Gaetan Siew is the founder of the Global Creative Leadership Initiative, a foundation sharing solutions for a more humane world.

Location: LE KURSAAL - Palais des Congrès de Dunkerque
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