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| Delegates and Organizers of the RCND2015 |
The 3rd
AUN/SEED-Net Regional Conference on Natural Disaster (RCND), having the theme
“Building Resilient Communities” was held on September 25-26, 2015 at 4F Henry
Sy, Sr. Hall, De La Salle University (DLSU) Manila, Philippines. This
conference was hosted by DLSU Department of Civil Engineering in cooperation
with AUN/SEED-Net and JICA.
On the first day, the opening program started with the welcome remarks from Dr.
Jonathan R. Dungca (Dean of DLSU Gokongwei College of Engineering), Dr. Renan
T. Tanhueco (Conference Chairman), Mr. Jun Takashima (AUN/SEED-Net Officer) and
Br. Raymundo B. Suplido FSC, PhD (Brother President, DLSU-Manila). The plenary
session was divided into two parts : keynote speeches and keynote lectures. The first plenary keynote speech was
delivered by Honorable Alfredo Arquillano, Jr., former mayor of San
Francisco, Camotes, Cebu and the UNISDR Asia Pacific Regional Champion for
making cities resilient. He gave a speech on “How can the academe support in
empowering local communities in disaster risk reduction and climate change
adaptation”. The second plenary keynote speaker was Dr. Jerry Velasquez, Chief,
Advocacy and Outreach Section of the United Nations International Strategy for
Disaster Reduction (UNISDR) at Geneva, Switzerland and Head of the "Making
Cities Resilient Campaign". He gave a speech on “Making Cities Resilient:
Lessons from HFA and Needed Actions based on the Sendai Framework for Action
(SFA)”. For the plenary keynote lecture,
Professor Junji Kiyono from Kyoto University talked about the “Seismic Response
Analysis of Vehicle on Expressway” while Professor Norimi Mizutani from Nagoya
University discussed the “Countermeasures for Reducing Tsunami Force Acting on Buildings”.
After the plenary session in the morning, parallel
sessions were conducted in the afternoon. There were four tracks in the parallel sessions focusing on the five subthemes:
- Understanding the Hazards
- Assessing the Vulnerabilities and Disaster Risks
- Reducing the Disaster Risks
- Planning for the Risks
- Increasing People's Resilience
A welcome dinner was also organized by the DLSU Department of Civil
Engineering in cooperation with DLSU External Relations and
Internationalization Office. It was held at 5th floor Henry Sy, Sr. Hall, DLSU
Manila, Philippines. The delegates were welcomed by Dr. Alvin Culaba (Director,
External Relations and Internationalization Office) and Engr. Jason Engr. Jason
Ongpeng (Chairman, Civil Engineering Department). The organizers invited DLSU Innersoul
and DLSU Dance Company-Folk to entertain the delegates and introduce them to
the Filipino culture. The dance company danced the Tinikling which is a
traditional Philippine Dance that originated during the Spanish Colonial Era.
On the second day, the conference started with the parallel sessions that
focused on understanding the hazards, reducing the
disaster risks, planning for the risks
and increasing people's resilience. After that, a
plenary session occurred were a recap of the conference was presented by Dr.
Renan T. Tanhueco (Conference Chairman) and closing remarks was given by
Dr. Raymond Girard R. Tan (Director, Office of the Vice Chancellor for Research
and Innovation).
Sixty two (62) international papers were published in the proceedings
while 55 delegates presented their paper during the conference. Twenty from the
Philippines, eight from Japan, three from Thailand, twelve from Indonesia,
three from Malaysia, four from Myanmar and five from Vietnam, who had shared their
researches regarding the said theme during the Parallel and Plenary Sessions
that were held for two days.
After the Conference, the delegates
went on a Manila City tour. They visited Rizal Park, National Museum, Fort
Santiago and Silahis Arts and Crafts.
The support of AUN/SEED-Net, DLSU Administration, CES and CE Department faculty and staff is deeply appreciated. The funding provided by JICA is acknowledge. Thank you to all paper presentors and delegates. See you in the next RCND.
The support of AUN/SEED-Net, DLSU Administration, CES and CE Department faculty and staff is deeply appreciated. The funding provided by JICA is acknowledge. Thank you to all paper presentors and delegates. See you in the next RCND.
View more photos. Link to Photos
Article by: Rachelle Nicole Lao, Erica Elice S. Uy and
Joenel G. Galupino
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