WELLINGTON, May 21 (Xinhua) -- New Zealand Civil Defence Minister Nikki Kaye will discuss the resilience of the city of Christchurch and the surrounding Canterbury region after the devastating 2011 earthquake when she meets with disaster management officials from around the world this week.
Kaye is attending the Fourth Session of the United Nations Global Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction in Geneva, Switzerland, where she will speak at the opening ceremony on Tuesday.
The theme for this year's conference is "Invest Today for a Safer Tomorrow -- Resilient People -- Resilient Planet."
Kaye will also attend a panel discussion for global leaders themed "Ahead of the Wave: Leading the Way to Resilience."
"The Canterbury earthquakes tested our approach to disaster risk reduction. As a result, we are seen to have strong expertise in both emergency management and recovery," Kaye said in a statement Tuesday.
"A key focus of the conference is community and volunteer involvement and the role of young people in this."
She said she would also speak about "the incredible Canterbury community response" at a plenary session on community resilience.
"We also know the economic impact of the Canterbury earthquakes and the importance of strong business resilience in recovery," said Kaye.
At least 185 people died when a 6.3-magnitude quake struck Christchurch on Feb. 22, 2011.
The Global Platform is a biennial forum attended by more than 2, 000 representatives from UN member states.
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