The opening remarks were followed by a discussion moderated by Stephanie Speck, UNDRR Chief- Communication, which included presentations from government representatives and young participants from the 2019 WTAD High School Student Summit.
Wisnu Widjaja, Deputy Minister for System and Strategy, National Disaster Management Authority of the Republic of Indonesia briefed the audience on lessons learned after the tsunamis in Palu in September 2018 and Krakatau in December 2018, and promoted a range of new information tools that provide valuable citizen information, including the new InaRISK information system, which can now display multi-hazard risk assessments and better monitor risks in Indonesia.
Nicolas Morgado Maldonado from the Colegio Bajo Molle, Chile who attended the WTAD High School Student Summit said he learned a lot from the Summit in Japan and will now work closely with the young people of his country to improve disaster risk reduction awareness.
“My country is located on the Ring of Fire. Despite this we were surprised to see how so few young Chileans know about tsunami and earthquake risks. We also noticed, that all our evacuation routes in Chile include stairs, which can prevent a lot of people from being evacuated in time if a disaster happens. We thought we could do something about it through social media campaigns to better inform citizens with special needs.”
Robert Kirkbride, Dean of Parsons School of Constructed Environments and Professor of Architecture and Product Design, New School, New York presented a range of initiatives that sensitize future architects on urban resilience, such as the Earth Manual Project and the “Lost homes model restoration project”. These initiatives were inspired by design initiatives undertaken in Japan.
Ambassador Milenko Esteban Skoknic Tapia, Permanent Representative of Chile to the United Nations in New York and Ambassador Thilmeeza Hussain, Permanent Representative of the Maldives to the United Nations in New York highlighted the importance of bringing different stakeholders around the same table to reduce tsunami risks in the future.
“Risks remain immense", concluded Mami Mizutori, “Disaster risk reduction is everybody’ business. We cannot forget and this is why, we have a World Tsunami Awareness Day every year. As the Secretary-General has stated, we are now entering the Decade of Action. All countries must move to ensure that disaster risk reduction national strategies are in place to reduce multi-hazard risks.”
Prior to the panel discussion, UNDRR and the Japan Mission in New York organized an intergenerational dialogue, which was webcast on UN TV and hosted on Facebook Live, reaching almost 3,000 people. Participants discussed ways to better inform citizens on tsunami risks: young and old. Five students from Chile and Japan representing the WTAD High School Student Summit; Marc McDonald from the AARP Foundation, which helps vulnerable older adults build economic opportunity and social connectedness and SRSG Mizutori joined the dialogue, which strongly underlined the importance of building resilience across generations.
WTAD in New York ended with a reception held at the Japan Society attended by 150 people. SRSG Mizutori honored Ambassador Bessho of Japan, thanking him for his support and leadership of WTAD and wishing him well in his future endeavors.
Date:
8 Nov 2019
Sources:
United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction - New York UNHQ Liaison Office (UNDRR NY)
Themes:
Climate Change, Community-based DRR, Early Warning, Education & School Safety, Information Management
Hazards:
Tsunami
Regions:
Americas, Asia