As a contribution to knowledge development and dissemination in and around the twin themes of resilience and biodiversity, the University of the Philippines is hosting the 11th Association of Pacific Rim Universities (APRU) Research Symposium on Multi-Hazards around the Pacific Rim on 7-10 October 2015 in UP Diliman.
The two-day symposium aims to convene experts and specialists to address multiple hazards on marine, meteorological and geohazards, all highly relevant to the archipelagic situation of the Philippines as well as coastal economies in and around the Pacific.
It is a platform for the exchange and dissemination of knowledge about resilience and biodiversity, with emphasis on understanding disaster risk and risk factors; effects of natural hazards on exposed elements; communities of interest, sectors of concern, and elements of interest; investing in disaster risk reduction and management for and sustainability; “build back better” in recovery, rehabilitation and reconstruction; and enhancing disaster preparedness for effective response.
The keynote speakers are Dr. Toshio Yamagata, professor emeritus at the University of Tokyo and director of the Application Laboratory of the Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology, and Dr. Michael L. Tan, a medical anthropologist, writer and the current chancellor of UP Diliman.
The plenary sessions will have the following local and international experts as speakers:
– Dr. Takako Izumi, associate professor at the International Research Institute of Disaster Science at Tohoku University
– Ms. Cheryl Torrado, program director of APRU Global Leadership
– Dr. Supot Teachavorasinskun, is associate professor of Geotechnical Engineering at Chulalongkorn University in Bangkok, Thailand
– Dr. Kuniyoshi Takeuchi, professor at the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering in Yamanashi University, Japan
– Dr. Renato Solidum, Jr., director of the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology
– Dr. Alfredo Mahar Francisco A. Lagmay, professor at the National Institute of Geological Sciences at the University of the Philippines, and executive director of Project NOAH (or Nationwide Operational Assessment of Hazards)
– Dr. Perry S. Ong, Ph.D., professor of wildlife biology and former director of UP Diliman
– Mr. JC Gaillard, associate professor at the School of Environment, University of Auckland, New Zealand
– Mr. German Velasquez, chief of the Advocacy and Communications Section and head of the Making Cities Resilient Campaign of the UN Office for Disaster Risk Reduction in Geneva, Switzerland
– Dr. Lei Yan, director of Beijing Key Lab of Spatial Information Integration and Its Applications
– Undersecretary Alexander P. Pama, acting administrator of the Office of Civil Defense and executive director of the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council
– Dr. Yuichi Ono, assistant director and professor at the International Research Institute of Disaster Science in Tohoku University.
– Dr. Felino P. Lansigan, professor of statistics at the University of the Philippines Los Baños (UPLB), and an affiliate professor of the UPLB School of Environmental Science and Management
There will also be the launch of Resilience Survive and Thrive™, a tabletop card game that aims to teach its players lessons on balanced development and natural resiliency under the climate change lens, and the premiere of an original musical composition for chorus and percussion, inspired by Typhoon Ondoy, by National Artist and University Professor Emeritus Dr. Ramon P. Santos, with poetry by University Professor Emeritus Dr. Gemino H. Abad.
The symposium is sponsored primarily by the Office of the President and the Office of International Linkages (OIL) of the Office of the Vice President for Academic Affairs. The local organizing committee is composed of faculty and staff members of UP Diliman. It is headed by Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs Dr. Benito M. Pacheco, professor of engineering; and the director of OIL and Assistant Vice President for Academic Affairs Dr. Rhodora V. Azanza, professor of marine science.
