On March 18, the forum was inaugurated by the welcome speech of Dr. Daisuke Komori, and the guest speech of Hj. Illiza Sa’aduddin Djamal, Mayor of Banda Aceh City, Indonesia. In her speech the Mayor remembered that Indian Ocean tsunami in 2004, which is the most devastating disaster in modern history that killed more than twenty-three percent inhabitants of Banda Aceh. Encouraging the all victims of disasters, the Mayor insisted that “there is a happiness after difficulties;” “disaster is a test from the God so that we can be a better person and we can make a better community too.”

The public forum consisted with two sessions; the first is an invited speakers’ session, which included four presentations given by the United Nations University Institute for Environment and Human Security (UNU-EHS); and Huddersfield University (UK) and Hokkaido University. The first session was opened by Professor Jakob Rhyner, the UNU Vice Rector in Europe, with his umbrella speech, “Environmental Risks and Human Security.” Dr. Joerg Szarzynski, the organizer of UNU team, provided an overview about UNU’s educational activities in DRR. The speeches of invited speakers have been given an opportunity to consider disasters through human security approach. The speeches were highly appreciated by the audience. Considering human security in disasters was a popular issue as proved by overflowing number of participants.

The second session was an “Implicit Role Playing Game,” organized by Tohoku University; entitled as “Role of Dikes in Protecting Coastal Villages from Tsunami.” The public perception of construction of seawalls was tested through the Role Playing Game. The session was opened by Professor Dinil Pushpalal, the forum chair, giving an introductory speech on issue of dikes. A video “Message from Higashimatsushima city,” edited by Atsushi Suzuki, was displayed, providing a comprehensive information on the issue. This role play forwarded four local residents from coastal regions of Miyagi Prefecture, such as Kesennuma, Minamisanriku, and Higashimatsushima, who experienced various damages during the tsunami in 2011. They argued through their own experiences about seawalls. The participants were separated to four different groups, encircling a local resident and joined the discussions. This event provided the participants a chance not only to think impartial but also to think from the position of the local residents.

The Role Playing Game was an eventful one in the public forum that was capable of improving interactivity among the participants and gave participants a chance of meeting with real victims of the Great East Japan Earthquake. Answering a questionnaire during the role play, a considerable number of participants has answered that “human life” should be given the first priority when we consider the issue of seawall construction. Professor Shinobu Kitani, one of the co-producers of the play insisted his intention to continue the questionnaire survey on seawalls based on knowledge he obtained from this public forum.

More details and photos of the event can be downloaded from the following webs.
http://human-security.jp/posts/3961
http://www.wcdrr.org/conference/events/95

(Photo credit: Yosuke Futomi)