Japan is a World Leader in Disaster Preparedness and Response
"Here is an opportunity to learn from their experience"

Global Forum for Disaster Reduction (GFDR), in collaboration with Japan Foundation, is organizing a two days International Conference on “Building Disaster Resilient Societies – Lessons from Japan” on 22-23 February, 2013 at PHD House, August Kranti Marg, New Delhi.

Disaster Management needs of a vast and disaster-prone country like India, require that it not only relies on its own experience and knowledge of disasters but also incorporates the information, experiences and technical know-how that it can obtain from other countries in order to formulate an effective disaster management strategy with a vision of future needs and new progresses in this field. This Conference proposes to create a platform for interface between scholars of India and Japan who are experts on various fields of disaster management. The objective of this Conference is knowledge sharing between Indian and Japanese scholars and practitioners of disaster management.

The paradigm shift in disaster management from disaster response to prevention, preparation and mitigation necessitates that the disasters are examined from a multi-disciplinary lens in an integrated and holistic manner in order to acquire the state of arts critical knowledge and best practices so as to include these ideas and knowledge in disaster prevention, preparation and mitigation.

In order to facilitate knowledge sharing between disaster management scholars and practitioners from Japan and India, Global Forum for Disaster Reduction (GFDR) and Samutthan Foundation propose to organize a two-day International Conference in collaboration with Japan Foundation in New Delhi, India. Disaster risk management has scientific as well as human quotient to it. Therefore, the two-day conference will equally focus on the application of science and technology for disaster risk mitigation and on various sociological aspects of disaster preparedness and response.

Target Audiences / Participants:

• Disaster management experts from India, Japan and other countries
• Research Institutions
• Civil engineers, Architects, Space scientists
• Environmentalists
• Policymaker, Government officials
• Media
• Civil society organizations
• Corporate sector

Expected Outcome:

This conference will give an opportunity to disaster management experts, policymakers, environmentalists, members of voluntary organizations, media persons and other stakeholders from Japan and India to exchange knowledge, experience and ideas about best practices in disaster management;

• Japan’s scientific and technological advances in risk assessment and disaster mitigation could be used to bridge knowledge gaps and strengthen India’s disaster management system;
• Mainstreaming of climate change issues and disaster management into the development planning process of the developing countries;
• Increase in knowledge and awareness about disaster risk mitigation among policymakers could reduce governance deficit in disaster management and lead to the formulation of effective disaster mitigation policies;
• Improvement in community preparedness through the involvement of schools, voluntary organizations, media and other stakeholders in disaster mitigation and risk reduction trainings and capacity building programs;
• Enhancing the scope of collaboration between Indian and Japanese scientists, which could strengthen research and development on disaster mitigation and prevention, and the new knowledge generated could be of benefit to Japan, India and other countries.