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Global Vocabulary of Resilience

A mosaic of experiences

About the Vocabulary

In times of prolonged uncertainty, familiar points of reference break down. What once seemed stable — security, predictability, trust in institutions, and a sense of the future — ceases to function as a reliable system of coordinates. One way of navigating such uncertainty may be to return to experience that already exists in culture, memory, social practices, and institutional models. It must not simply be recalled, but reinterpreted and reclaimed as a resource for action.

The Global Vocabulary of Resilience was created for precisely this purpose: to bring together concepts, practices, models, and cultural frames through which different societies explain their capacity to withstand crisis, support one another, continue to act, and make meaning of difficult experience.

A shared language of resilience helps the world preserve human dignity, freedom, mutual responsibility, and the capacity to act amid prolonged uncertainty.

Vocabulary methodology

How are concepts selected for the Vocabulary?

Each page begins with research, undergoes editorial review, and passes through several stages of verification. Only concepts supported by a sufficient body of reliable sources, a clearly defined resilience mechanism, and a properly explained context are included in the Vocabulary.

  • RESEARCH AND SELECTION

    Exploring potential concepts

    We compare academic, official, cultural, and linguistic sources, explanations provided by native speakers, and materials relating to crisis situations. We document the meaning, origin, current use, mechanism, limitations, risks, and distinctions from related concepts.

    • meaning
    • origin
    • mechanism
    • current use
    • risks
  • MULTILEVEL VERIFICATION

    Examining concepts from different perspectives

    • 01 Expert

      Is the interpretation accurate?

      Subject-matter experts verify the meaning, spelling, and translation; the historical and cultural context; the resilience mechanism; the sources; and the limitations and risks of oversimplification.

    • 02 Cultural and Linguistic Review

      where needed

      Is this interpretation culturally appropriate?

      For sensitive concepts, we consult linguistic and cultural experts, as well as representatives of the relevant communities. For concepts relating to Indigenous peoples, diplomatic review alone is not sufficient.

    • 03 Diplomatic

      Have the political and historical contexts been taken into account?

      Embassies and diplomatic partners help identify political, historical, and diplomatic risks and facilitate contact with local experts and institutions.

  • FINAL EDITING

    Preparing the final version

    • Expert review and content finalisation

      The editorial team works with experts, incorporates the results of the review, and refines the translation, tone, structure, scope of the concept, and its place within the Vocabulary.

    • The Final Vocabulary page

      A verified core of content for both the print and digital editions.

Four Dimensions of Resilience

  • Individual

    Survive

    The individual capacity to withstand pressure, danger, loss, grief, or prolonged uncertainty. This is not about glorifying suffering, but about the ways in which people preserve agency, dignity, inner stability, and the ability to continue living even when external conditions remain unstable.

    Learn more

  • Institutions

    Act

    Practices, models, and institutional mechanisms that allow communities, services, organisations, and public systems to continue functioning during crisis: preparedness, coordination, adaptation, responsibility, and the maintenance of critical functions under strain.

    Learn more

  • Community

    Stay Together

    What sustains social bonds during crisis: trust, mutual support, belonging, care, solidarity, and the ability to act together. At its centre is the community as a source of support, coordination, and recovery, so that individuals do not have to face pressure alone.

    Learn more

  • Culture

    Make Meaning

    How societies work with pain, loss, danger, and traumatic experience. It concerns memory, culture, responsibility, moral orientation, and the ability to transform what has been lived through not only into a recollection of the past, but also into a basis for future action.

    Learn more

The Global Vocabulary of Resilience was prepared specifically for the 6th Summit of First Ladies and Gentlemen as part of the All-Ukrainian Mental Health Program “How Are U?” — an initiative of Ukraine’s First Lady Olena Zelenska.
The project was implemented in partnership with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine and Ukraine’s diplomatic missions in the participating countries, with support from the WHO Country Office in Ukraine and UNICEF. Expert and analytical support was provided by the Coordination Center for Mental Health of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine and the Institute for National Resilience and Security.

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