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Natural disasters, like other societal crises present opportunities for learning and improving social and sectoral resilience, humanitarian response and building capacity related to sustainability. In the past the lessons related to emergency management, and crisis response may have been over emphasized at the expense of those lessons related to policies and strategic thinking related to Risk Reduction.

The cluster of recent events including the March 11 2011 TOHOKU Earthquake and Tsunami have presented a range of challenges. These challenges go far beyond the short term (so called Emergency Phase) and may require fundamental repositioning of global, national, and local practice related to areas such as Risk Reduction, Recovery and Reconstruction Strategies, and Supply Chain integrity. Gaps in knowledge and practice  revealed by the Tohoku Crisis – and other recent events –  have implications for Sustainable Livelihoods, reliable revenue streams, and Economic stability as well as the Sustainable Development aspirations of the global community.

New and improved knowledge networking, innovative information and idea sharing out of the box solution focused thinking and engaging in conversations across and between disciplines need to be stimulated and maintained. The stakeholders in this capacity building process include first response practitioners, emergency managers, diverse professional groups, officials and policy makers, investors, business managers, researchers, educators.

Their engagement and long term participation is vital if more robust and resilient local, municipal, provincial, regional and global systems are to be achieved.

The overall purpose of this first anniversary review session will be to: promote and stimulate wider dialogue and sharing of Lessons Learned between all stakeholders; facilitate the exchange of information and lessons learned in the Canadian interest groups; stimulate dialogue and discussion regarding optimal development and timely utilization of emergency, disaster, and risk focused knowledge and skill sets at all levels.

This one-day conference is a professional event to be held on the first anniversary of the earthquake that created multiple secondary hazards such as Tsunami and Nuclear Power Plant meltdown and many Supply Chain challenges for the global economy.

Many prominent officials, scholars and researchers, media reporters, NGOs, and private sector will be among the panelists and participants.

It is an opportunity to learn about this major event, meet and network with diverse stakeholders and contribute to discussions on improving our processes and the capacity to deal with similar events and reducing the risks associated with future crises.

 

Japans TOHOKU Earthquake and Tsunami of March 11, 2011:

LESSONS LEARNT Seminar; York University March 09 2012

Program

(Please click here for a PDF file of the program and Speakers’ Biographies)

0900 – 0930  OPENING SESSION

Ali Asgary, Associate Professor and Graduate Program Director, Disaster and Emergency Management Program, York University

Professor Barbara Crow, Associate Dean, Faculty of Liberal Arts and Professional Studies

Masaya Otsuka, Consul, Head Information and Culture, Consulate-General of Japan in Toronto

Ken Noma, President, National Association of Japanese Canadians

 

0930 – 1030  SESSION 1

Session Chair: Franklin McDonald

Ioan Nistor,  Associate Professor, Department of Civil Engineering Vice-Dean Graduate Studies. Faculty of Engineering, University of Ottawa

Topic: Engineering Significance and Lessons of the March 11, 2011 Tsunami in Japan: Tsunami Impacts on Infrastructure

 

Futoshi Ohyama, Associate Professor, Department of Adult Nursing, Tokai University School of Health Science (Via ELink from Japan) and

Kenji Fukushima, Assistant Professor, Department of Emergency and Critical Care Medicine, Saitama Medical Center, Member of Japan’s Disaster Relief Team

Topic: Disaster of Japan and the East Great Earthquake. An Overview of 3.11

1030  – 1045 COFFEE BREAK

 

1045 – 1215  SESSION 2

Session Chair: David Etkin, Associate Professor, Disaster and Emergency Management Program, York University

Mark Schwartz, Associate Professor and Area Coordinator, Law, Governance & Ethics, School of Administrative Studies, York University

Topic: Business Ethics Issues Arising from Japan’s 2011 Tohoku Earthquake and Tsunami

 

Hossam Elsharkawi, Director, Emergencies and Recovery, International Operations Canadian Red Cross

Topic: Lessons learned in japan, and how those lessons apply to Canada

 

Frederic Miville-Deschenes, Senior Advisor,  and Peter Bundy, Advisor, DFAIT’s Humanitarian Affairs and Disaster Response Division

Topic: Canada’s Responses to Natural Disasters Abroad – the case of the Great East Japan Earthquake

 

Heather Leson, Director of Community Engagement Ushahidi

Topic: Mapping responses to the Japanese earthquake


1215 – 1330 LUNCH BREAK

1315-1330  JAPANESE TRADITIONAL SPIRITUAL DANCE

By Students in “Improve the World Creativity Project“, “Students Fundraiser For Japan’s Earthquake Victims”

1330 – 1500  SESSION  3

Session Chair: Niru Nirupama, Associate Professor, Disaster and Emergency Management Program, York University

 

Amber Hildebrandt, Online Journalist at CBC,

Topic: Reporting on Japan’s triple disaster

 

Martin Schwerdtfeger, Senior Economist, TD Bank Financial Group

Topic: Economic and Financial Impact of Japan’s 2011 Tsunami

 

Crystal Penner, World Vision Canada

Topic: New things, Unique things & Old things in Disaster Response

 

1500 – 1600 Discussions and Closing Panel

Session Chair: Ioan Nistor,  Associate Professor, Department of Civil Engineering, University of Ottawa

Panel Members:

Franklin McDonald, Visiting Scholar York University

Harris Ali, Associate Professor,  Faculty of Environmental Studies, York University

David V.J. Bell, Director, York Centre for Applied Sustainability and Professor, Faculty of Environmental Studies, York University

Closing Session Presentation

Franklin McDonald, Visiting Scholar York University

Topic: Key Disaster Risk Reduction Challenges of The Japan’s 2011 Earthquake and Tsunami

Closing Session Discussions (by the Panelists and Participants)

 

 

Resources: