Seminar on “Space and Sustainable Development: The Role of Space-based Applications in Disaster Risk Reduction”
2015/2/9
On 9 February 2015, on the occasion of the 52nd session of Scientific and Technical Subcommittee of COPUOS, a seminar on “Space and Sustainable Development: The Role of Space-based Applications in Disaster Risk Reduction” was held at the Vienna International Centre (VIC), hosted by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan. This is the third seminar Japan held on the occasion of STSC under the theme of “Space and Sustainable Development” following the past two years.
Mr. Mitsuru Kitano, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary, Permanent Mission of Japan to the International Organizations in Vienna delivered his opening remarks at the seminar, which was then moderated by Ms. Chiaki Mukai, Senior Advisor to the Executive Director and Astronaut of Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA). The five distinguished presenters, Mr. Juan-Carlos Villagran, Head of the UN-SPIDER Bonn Office, UNOOSA, Mr. Takeshi Nakao, Senior Researcher, Asia Disaster Reduction Centre (ADRC), Mr. Stefano Salvi, Chair of the Supersites Advisory Committee, Group on Earth Observations (GEO), Mr. Renato U. Solidum Jr., Director, Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (PHIVOLCS), and Mr. Vinay Kumar Dadhwal, Director, National Remote Sensing Centre (NRSC), Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) made presentations on how space technology and applications can contribute todisaster risk reduction in advance of the 3rd United Nations World Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction, which will be held in March 2015 in Sendai, Japan. Afterwards, presenters engaged audience members by answering their extensive questions.
Mr. Yasushi Horikawa, Technical Counsellor of JAXA and the former Chair of COPUOS noted in his concluding remarks the importance of COPUOS contributions toward the sustainable development goals (SDGs) and the post-2015 development agenda process, and expressed his expectation that space technology and research will be further utilized in the fields of disaster management and disaster risk reduction.
Following the seminar, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan hosted a well-attended reception.
Mr. Mitsuru Kitano, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary, Permanent Mission of Japan to the International Organizations in Vienna delivered his opening remarks at the seminar, which was then moderated by Ms. Chiaki Mukai, Senior Advisor to the Executive Director and Astronaut of Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA). The five distinguished presenters, Mr. Juan-Carlos Villagran, Head of the UN-SPIDER Bonn Office, UNOOSA, Mr. Takeshi Nakao, Senior Researcher, Asia Disaster Reduction Centre (ADRC), Mr. Stefano Salvi, Chair of the Supersites Advisory Committee, Group on Earth Observations (GEO), Mr. Renato U. Solidum Jr., Director, Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (PHIVOLCS), and Mr. Vinay Kumar Dadhwal, Director, National Remote Sensing Centre (NRSC), Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) made presentations on how space technology and applications can contribute todisaster risk reduction in advance of the 3rd United Nations World Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction, which will be held in March 2015 in Sendai, Japan. Afterwards, presenters engaged audience members by answering their extensive questions.
Mr. Yasushi Horikawa, Technical Counsellor of JAXA and the former Chair of COPUOS noted in his concluding remarks the importance of COPUOS contributions toward the sustainable development goals (SDGs) and the post-2015 development agenda process, and expressed his expectation that space technology and research will be further utilized in the fields of disaster management and disaster risk reduction.
Following the seminar, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan hosted a well-attended reception.
The Practical Export Control Workshop was hosted by the Wassenaar Arrangement as part of its 20th Anniversary programs and held at the Permanent Mission of Japan to the International Organizations in Vienna on 27 and 28 June 2016. More than 100 government representatives from 46 countries participated in the technically focused Practical Workshop.
Workshop speakers included the 2016 WA Plenary Chair Ambassador Anu Laamanen (Finland), 2016 WA General Working Group Chair Ambassador Paul Beijer (Sweden), 2015-2016 WA Experts Group Chair Robertas Rosinas (Lithuania), 2016 WA Licensing and Enforcement Officers Meeting Chair Jon Erik Strömö (Norway), as well as the Head of the WA Secretariat, Ambassador Philip Griffiths. The WA control lists as well as export licensing and enforcement topics were covered during the two days.
The following link from WA’s webpage contains more details:
http://www.wassenaar.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/June-2016-Workshop-media-release.pdf
Workshop speakers included the 2016 WA Plenary Chair Ambassador Anu Laamanen (Finland), 2016 WA General Working Group Chair Ambassador Paul Beijer (Sweden), 2015-2016 WA Experts Group Chair Robertas Rosinas (Lithuania), 2016 WA Licensing and Enforcement Officers Meeting Chair Jon Erik Strömö (Norway), as well as the Head of the WA Secretariat, Ambassador Philip Griffiths. The WA control lists as well as export licensing and enforcement topics were covered during the two days.
The following link from WA’s webpage contains more details:
http://www.wassenaar.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/June-2016-Workshop-media-release.pdf