The UP Resilience Institute (UP RI) was honored to participate as an exhibitor at Meralco’s Convergence 2025, a landmark conference that brought together programs on Environment, Safety, and Health (ESH), Business Continuity Management (BCM), and Security into one dynamic and integrated platform.
Held on July 30–31, 2025, at the Meralco Operating Center (MOC), Ortigas Avenue, Pasig City, the event was anchored on Meralco’s core values of malasakit and makabayan. Convergence 2025 equipped employees and stakeholders with knowledge, strategies, and best practices to navigate today’s increasingly complex risk landscape.
As risks from climate change and cyber threats continue to grow in scale and complexity, Convergence provided a vital platform to align institutions, businesses, and communities around resilience. The integration of ESH, BCM, and Security highlighted that resilience cannot be achieved in silos, but it requires a holistic, people-centered approach.
Our Role at Convergence
As one of the partner exhibitors, UP RI showcased our tools designed to advance disaster risk reduction and resilience in the Philippines, such as the NOAH website and the NOAH mobile apps. At our booth, we highlighted NOAH’s Know Your Hazard feature and the Impact-Based Flood Forecasting System, which empower communities and institutions to make informed decisions for safety and sustainability. The event also allowed us to connect with convention delegates, collaborators, and potential partners, strengthening collective resilience efforts. At the same time, it provided a platform to enhance our visibility and share our advocacy for open data, science-based solutions, and community-centered disaster risk management with a broader audience.
Conversations at the Exhibit
One of the highlights of our participation was the opportunity to engage directly with participants who visited our booth. Many shared that they were already familiar with the NOAH website and app, regularly checking which areas were prone to flooding.
Some participants shared that while the NOAH website and apps were already used for checking flood-prone areas, they wished for real-time flood data that could directly guide operational decisions, such as knowing when and where to turn down Meralco’s operations for safety. While our current tools provide hazard simulations and forecasts, their feedback underscored the value of complementing these data with Internet-of-Things (IoT)-based sensors for ground-level flood monitoring, which can be installed in specific areas. This kind of integration could bridge the gap between simulation and real-time conditions, further strengthening business continuity and community resilience.
UP RI’s participation in Convergence 2025 reaffirmed our commitment to building bridges between academia, government, the private sector, and communities. Together with Meralco and fellow exhibitors, we created pathways toward a future where resilience is highlighted as a shared responsibility embedded in everyday decision-making.
We are grateful for the chance to listen to stories from Meralco employees who continue to use and find value in the NOAH platform. Their feedback reminds us that resilience work is most meaningful when it directly supports the needs of those on the ground.