Special Event Leave No-one Behind: Promoting Inclusion in Tsunami Risk Management 14:30 16:00 Wednesday 04 July 2018 Ballroom 1, Shangri La Hotel
THE PANEL Chair/Moderator H.E. Mr. Phillip Gibson Special Envoy for Disaster Risk Management, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, New Zealand Speakers H.E. Mr. Masato Takaoka Ambassador of Japan to Mongolia Mr. Shinichi Takahashi Vice Mayor of the City of Sendai, Japan Dr. Arunee Limmanee Advisor on Education and Employment, Association of the Physically Handicapped of Thailand Ms. Marikris de Guzman Regional Focal Point for DRR in Asia, UN Major Group for Children and Youth Mr. Eduardo Klien Regional Director, HelpAge International Ms. Darin Kumnertrut Weather and Disaster News Editor, Thai Public Broadcasting Service (Thai PBS) Mr. Andrew McElroy UNISDR Pacific Coordinator 1
CONCEPT NOTE Background In December 2015, the United Nations General Assembly designated 5 November as World Tsunami Awareness Day to promote a global culture of tsunami awareness. As a precursor to this year s World Tsunami Awareness Day, the AMCDRR will feature a special event to explore how tsunamis affect vulnerable groups, and to recommend key actions to be taken to ensure the needs and capacities of groups such as persons living with disabilities, children and older people, as well as those excluded by ethnicity or geographic location, are taken into account is tsunami risk management. This special event promotes inclusion as an overarching theme for World Tsunami Awareness Day. Session objective This session aims to: 1. To raise awareness of particular needs and vulnerabilities of persons living with disability, children, older people and others in the face of tsunami risks; 2. To share key recommendations for improving tsunami risk management through greater consultation and engagement with vulnerable groups; and 3. To launch specific tsunami awareness events and activities, including a preview of the World Tsunami Awareness Day campaign on 5 November. Expected outcomes 1. To sensitise participants to the particular risks associated with vulnerable groups in the event of a tsunami; 2. To promote greater inclusion in the design and implementation of tsunami risk management programming to ensure that the needs and capacities of vulnerable groups are fully addressed in the event of a tsunami; 3. To provide concrete recommendations to participants to ensure tsunami risk management programs are fully inclusive and address the needs of vulnerable groups; and 4. To raise the profile of World Tsunami Awareness Day as a key annual event to mobilise regional and global event to spur education and action to prevent the negative impact of tsunamis on lives and livelihoods. 2
BIO OF THE PANELLISTS H.E. Mr. Phillip Gibson H.E. Mr. Phillip Gibson is presently Special Envoy for Disaster Risk Management for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade of New Zealand. As Special Envoy he has led New Zealand s involvement in numerous United Nations and other regional conferences on Disaster Risk Management in Asia, the Pacific and the Caribbean, involving groupings such as APEC, ASEAN and the East Asia Summit. One of New Zealand s most senior diplomats, he has been Ambassador to Japan, Indonesia, Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos and Myanmar and was New Zealand's first Ambassador to ASEAN. He has held a range of other senior positions in New Zealand and internationally. Mr. Gibson holds BA honours in Latin from the University of Otago in New Zealand. H.E. Mr. Masato Takaoka H.E. Mr. Masato Takaoka is the Ambassador of Japan to Mongolia since November 2016. He is a career diplomat who entered the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) of Japan in 1981. His previous posting was in Sydney where he served as Consul-General of Japan since February 2014, subsequently to his mission in Iraq as Ambassador of Japan since September 2012. His other recent positions include Deputy Director-General of the Economic Affairs Bureau of MOFA (2008-2010) and Deputy Director-General of the International Affairs Bureau of the Ministry of Finance (2010-2012), both of which he held upon his return to Tokyo after completing his tour of duties as Minister for Economic Affairs at the Embassy of Japan in UK (2005-2008) and Minister for Political Affairs at the Embassy of Japan in India (2003-2005). Mr. Takaoka is a graduate of Tokyo University (International Relations) and earned a Master s Degree in Public Policy (MPP) from the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University. Mr. Shinichi Takahashi Mr. Shinichi Takahashi is the Vice Mayor of the City of Sendai in Japan since April 2018. He started his career in the Sendai City Municipal Government in 1980. Prior to the Vice Mayor, he was the Waterworks Managing Director of the Sendai City Municipal Government for two years. Previously, he was the Director General of the Construction Bureau in 2015 and Wakabayashi Ward in 2014. In 2013 he was the Director of the Post-Director Reconstruction Bureau. Prior to that, he was the Deputy Director General of Urban Planning Bureau from 2011 to 2013, and Senior Director of the same Bureau from 2008 to 2011. Mr. Takahashi graduated from the Faculty of Engineering, Tohoku Gakuin University in Japan. Dr. Arunee Limmanee Dr. Arunee Limmanee is the Advisor on Education and Employment of the Association of the Association of the Physically Handicapped of Thailand. She is a former academic lecturer at Mahidol University and is a counsellor on health and for people with mobility impairment. She is also an adviser for the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) and works for projects by the Thai Health Promotion Foundation. Ms. Marikris de Guzman Ms. Marikris de Guzman is the Regional Focal Point for Disaster Risk Reduction in Asia, UN Major Group for Children and Youth. She is also the youth engagement consultant for the International Labour Organisation, the associate director for the Social Impact Bond Lab. Prior to that, she was the legislative consultant for the Philippine House of Representatives in 2016. In 2015, she was the project coordinator for the national Youth Commission. Ms. Guzman holds masters degrees in development management from the 3
Asian Institute of Management, and public administration from the University of the Philippines. Mr. Eduardo Klien Mr. Eduardo Klien is the Regional Director of HelpAge International. He joined HelpAge as Asia/Pacific Regional Representative in September 2004. He has worked for more than 25 years in social and economic development with both governments and international organisations. Previous posts included working for Oxfam GB as Regional Manager for the Horn of Africa and Regional Director for Mexico/Central America. He also worked as Senior Adviser in the Ministry of Planning in Nicaragua. He is an economist by profession and has been a lecturer in Economics in the Universities of Mexico and Nicaragua. He has also been a Visiting Research Fellow in the Queen Elizabeth House of the University of Oxford. Mr. Klien graduated in International Management and Political Science from the University of Oregon, and has a MSc in Economics from El Colegio de México. Ms. Darin Kumnertrut Ms. Darin Kumnertrut is the Weather and Disaster News Editor of Thai Public Broadcasting Service (PBS). She presents a weekly Disaster Risk Reduction Show which was launched after the floods in Thailand in 2011. She is affectionately known as Madam Disaster by people across Thailand. Mr. Andrew McElroy Mr. Andrew McElroy is UNISDR s Pacific Coordinator. Previously, he was based at ISDR s Regional Office for Asia Pacific, Global Education and Training Institute, and Geneva Headquarters. He has also worked for the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies for 12 years. Prior to that he was a newspaper journalist for 14 years. 4