The RenaissanceRe Risk Sciences Foundation -sponsored by Bermuda reinsurer RenRe - received the Outstanding Achievement Award for mitigation from the 2011 National Hurricane Conference in Atlanta, Georgia this week.The award recognised the RenaissanceRe Risk Sciences Foundation’s sponsorship of its series of five Risk Mitigation Leadership Forums as an “outstanding and innovative achievement, worthy of emulation by others around the country”.Accepting the award, Stephen Weinstein, chairman of the RenaissanceRe Risk Sciences Foundation and senior vice-president and general counsel of RenRe said: “RenaissanceRe is proud of our long-term commitment and contributions to risk mitigation through awareness efforts like the series of Risk Mitigation Leadership Forums.“Our company firmly believes that mitigation is the best way to foster safer, more disaster-resistant communities, reduce insurance premium costs over time, and - most importantly - reduce the risk of loss of life in catastrophe prone regions.”RenRe CEO Neill Currie said: “Our business goal has always been to offer innovative and creative solutions for the risks facing our clients and the communities they serve.“By directly supporting outreach initiatives such as Risk Mitigation Leadership Forums and StormStruck at Epcot at Walt Disney World, and mitigation research programmes such as the RenaissanceRe Wall of Wind and the Insurance Institute for Business and Home Safety Research Center, we are able to better inform and enhance the products and services we have provided our customers since 1993.”Since 2008, the RenaissanceRe Risk Sciences Foundation has organized and sponsored a series of five Risk Mitigation Leadership Forums, alongside secondary sponsors RenaissanceRe’s affiliate, WeatherPredict Consulting Inc, and non-profit organisations the Federal Alliance for Safe Homes (FLASH) and the Insurance Institute for Business and Home Safety (IBHS).The five Forums have hosted almost 2,000 attendees and 150 keynote and panel speakers, and have included the Texas Risk Mitigation Leadership Forum (June 2010, in Austin, Texas); Safe Homes for all Leadership Forum (June 2009, in Washington, DC); Hurricane Science for Safety Forum (December 2008, in Orlando, Florida); Northeast Hurricane Mitigation Leadership Forum (July 2008, in Newport, Rhode Island); and Hurricane Risk Mitigation Leadership Forum (February 2008, in Orlando, Florida).By underwriting all event expenses related to these conferences, RenaissanceRe ensures that attendance to the Forums is free to all.Speakers donate their time and expertise and foster an open dialogue to help advance the conversation about mitigation.The Foundation is currently organising a sixth “Seismic Risk Mitigation Leadership Forum” on May 2-3, 2011 in San Francisco, California to examine mitigation best practices, public policy efforts, communication success stories, and earthquake risk research.The Leadership Forum organizers also offer tailored focused briefings to government agencies and others engaged in disaster safety management or oversight.Useful website:www.mitigationleadership.com