ADRC Highlights
Asian Disaster Reduction Center Monthly News
● Promoting Cooperation with Affiliated Institutions
Vol. 340
July2021
TOPICS
Promoting Cooperation
with AffiliatedInstitutions¶ Second SeminarHighlights DRR Education
Utilizing Lessons fromPast Disasters¶ The GLIDE Steering
Committee Meeting
Participation inInternational
Conferences
International Workshop on
the Accessibility ofEmergency andEvacuation Plans andSystems

Second Seminar Highlights DRR Education Utilizing Lessons from PastDisasters

On 13 July 2021, Asian Disaster Reduction Center (ADRC) organized the secondin its series of online DRR seminars entitled "DRR Education and AwarenessRaising through the Passing Down of Lessons from Past Disasters" (the firstseminar was held on 15 June 2021). The online seminar, attended by 281 people
from all over the world, showcased current efforts and challenges in promoting
DRR education and awareness raising by utilizing past disaster experiences
effectively in order to pass them on to the next generation. We invited threespeakers with various backgrounds in areas such as cognitive psychology, social
anthropology, and experience with an international NGO.
The first speaker, Prof. MURAMOTO Toshiaki (IRIDeS, Tohoku University),
stated that one challenge in handing down the memories and lessons of disasters isthat "when people are unable to conceive the reality of a disaster, they tend to treat
it as someone else's business." To address this, Prof. Muramoto introduced an
innovative educational method that could provide an opportunity for students toperceive disasters as "their own business." This method involves: (1)interdisciplinary lectures at school; (2) visits to disaster-affected areas andopportunities to hear the stories from 'kataribe'/storytellers, visits to memorial
monuments and museums, and interacting with victims; (3) group work to identify
challenges for earthquake recovery and to explore ways to solve those challenges;and (4) planning and execution of lectures on DRR for other students based on
their learning. By creating a protocol in which "learners become teachers,"
students might better be able to view disasters as "their own business;" that is, as
having direct relevance to them.

Asian Disaster
Reduction Center
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651-0073 Japan
Tel: 078-262-5540
Fax: 078-262-5546
editor@adrc.asia
https://www.adrc.asia

Prof. Muramoto of Tohoku University (Top left), Ms. Vanda Lengkong of Plan International (Top right), andDr. Sébastien Boret of Tohoku University (Bottom left)© ADRC 2021

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Vol. 340

Continued

Next, Ms. Vanda Lengkong (Plan International Asia Pacific Regional Office) reported that in Southeast
Asia, DRR education is promoted through the ASEAN Safe School Initiative (ASSI). This government-led
initiative is conducted in partnership with civil society organizations (CSOs). The initiative fosters crosssectoral coordination between the disaster management sector and the education sector. It creates space todiscuss and share school safety technical resources, approaches, and sound practices to minimize theimpacts of disasters on children and the education sector. This initiative is unique in that the elements
included in the formal educational system are supplemented with DRR educational activities for children
and parents in the community. In Indonesia for instance, "wayang" (puppet shows) are used as educational
tools for sharing DRR knowledge and lessons.
Finally, Dr. Sébastien Boret (IRIDeS, Tohoku University) pointed to the importance of museums andmonuments as methods of DRR education, particularly in promoting "collective memory." He cited theexample of Aceh Tsunami Museum in Indonesia, which functions not only as a center for education andlearning but also as a memorial, an evacuation building, and an activity space where the community cangather and interact. Additionally, Dr. Boret showed examples of monuments to the Great East Japan
Earthquake. He argued that these monuments create places where community members are able to express
their grief collectively, and where they can also learn about the history of local disasters. Monuments also
constitute a local heritage asset that promotes disaster tourism.
Mr. NAKAGAWA Masaaki, ADRC's Executive Director concluded the event by noting that themethodologies of DRR education are most effective at encouraging proactive learning and action when
they are appropriate for a given context and aligned with a community's culture and practices.
For more information on this seminar series, please visit the following website:
https://acdr.adrc.asia/home/2021Seminar

The GLIDE Steering Committee Meeting

A meeting of the newly established GLIDE Steering Committee was held on 30 June 2021. The committee
was established to strengthen the governance and to further develop and promote that project, which ADRC
has been implementing together with partner organizations for over 20 years. The meeting was attended by
17 experts from 10 organizations including UN agencies, international organizations, and research institutes.
Prof. ONO Yuichi of Tohoku University was elected to serve as the chair of the Steering Committee forthis year. Going forward, committee meetings will take place regularly to address various issues.

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Vol. 340● Participation in International Conferences
International Workshop on the Accessibility of Emergency and Evacuation Plans and Systems

On 15 June 2021, ADRC participated in an "International Workshop on the Accessibility of Emergency andEvacuation Plans and Systems," which was organized by the Ministry of Family, Labour and Social Services
in Turkey. This workshop was held in an online format, and DRR institutions and organizations from aroundthe world gave updates on the latest DRR activities related to the accessibility of emergency and evacuationplans and systems.
ADRC participated in Session 3, "Examples of Good Practices for the Accessibility of Emergency andEvacuation Plans and Systems" and gave a presentation on people requiring assistance during a disaster, asmentioned in the Disaster Countermeasures Basic Act of Japan, and challenges in promoting DRR activity inaging societies.

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