International Recovery Forum 2015

A series of commemorative events on disaster risk reduction are planned in Kobe, Hyogo, Japan for January 2015. Among these: the 20th commemoration of the Great Hanshin Awaji Earthquake; the 10th year of the Hyogo Framework for Action (HFA); and the 10th year of establishment of the International Recovery Platform (IRP). These forthcoming commemorative events are the embodiments of significant lessons that changed the paradigms on Disaster Risk Reduction in Japan and throughout the world. It pays recognition on the value of the lessons from the 1995 earthquake experience that provided insights on how to organize response and recovery efforts following mega-disasters, such as the 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami, 2005 Earthquake in Pakistan, 2006 Yogyakarta Earthquake, 2010 Earthquake in Haiti, 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake, and 2013 super typhoon Haiyan in the Philippines.

It is in consideration of these commemorative events that the next International Recovery Forum will be organized in Kobe, Hyogo on January 16, 2015 (Friday). The theme, Commemorating Two Decades of Lessons from the 1995 Kobe Earthquake and its Critical Importance to the Post-2015 Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction, signifies that the Forum will further explore how lessons from the Great Hanshin Awaji Earthquake can be effectively disseminated, analyzed, and applied to situations with similar challenges. The outcomes of the Forum are expected to oer additional insights for the discussions on Disaster Risk Reduction at the forthcoming World Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction (WCDRR), March 14-18, 2015 in Sendai.

Objectives

• Taking stock of the gains from the initiatives spearheaded by Hyogo Prefectural Government in partnership with the Government of Japan and the International Recovery Platform
• Sharing of experiences from mega disaster-impacted countries indicating how the lessons from the Great Hanshin Awaji Earthquake have further contributed to their respective Disaster Risk Reduction efforts
• Bridging the learnings of Hyogo Prefectural Government from hosting the 2nd World Conference on Disaster Reduction (WCDR) to Sendai City Government which will host the WCDRR