Opening of Centre for Disaster Resilience (CDR)

Become a high-skilled geospatial professional

On Thursday 28 October, Her Royal Highness Princess Margriet and Professor Pieter van Vollenhoven opened the Centre for Disaster Resilience (CDR) at the University of Twente’s Faculty of Geo-Information Science and Earth Observation (ITC). The opening of the centre coincided with the 70th anniversary of the ITC and represents the culmination of the faculty’s expertise to date in the field of disaster resilience, the underlying causes of disasters.

H.R.H Princess Margriet and Professor Pieter van Vollenhoven meet our students
H.R.H Princess Margriet and Professor Pieter van Vollenhoven meet our students. Photo by Annabel Jeuring.

H.R.H. Princess Margriet pressing the red button together with Dr Irene Manzella, coordinator of the Centre, for the official launch
H.R.H. Princess Margriet pressing the red button together with Dr Irene Manzella, coordinator of the Centre, for the official launch. Photo by Cees van Westen.


Programme

Thursday 28 October 2021 - Lead by Cees van Westen, Dinand Alkema & Funda Atun Girgin

Morning

Welcome coffee/tea (8.30 hrs)

Keynote presentations: Disaster Resilience in practice


Session "How can gender equality, diversity and inclusion support resilience?"


Lunch served in the annex for participants of the sessions

Afternoon

Inauguration of the UT-ITC Centre on Disaster Resilience (CDR)


Collaboration & Networking


Closing 

Disasters devastate lives and livelihoods. The most vulnerable are hit hardest. In the face of rising risks, resilience is essential to enable sustainable development. Today we discuss how to address these critical challenges, and launch ITC’s new Centre for Disaster Resilience.

ITC’s mission is to empower society through capacity development, particularly in developing countries, and to co-create geospatial solutions that address global challenges, such as climate change, increasing disaster impacts, population growth, and related claims for sufficient and secure food, water, energy, health, land and housing (in accordance with the UN SDGs, Paris Agreement and Sendai Framework on Disaster Risk Reduction). Within ITC there is ample expertise on the application of geospatial technologies to assess risks and foster resilient societies.

Disaster resilience is a global impact theme within ITC, and has been a major and growing research, education and project direction for the past decades. ITC has been a Centre of Excellence in this field (initially as the United Nations University-ITC School on Disaster Geo-Information Management, and since 2018 as a Centre of Excellence under the Integrated Research of Disaster Risk initiative (IRDR, a collaboration of UNDRR and ICSU). We also contribute to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), and partner in global initiatives such as the Anticipation Hub. ITC’s new Centre for Disaster Resilience is the logical next step, bringing together expertise from across ITC with the knowledge and experience from our networks to foster resilient societies.

The disaster resilience day at ITC will consist of four sessions of 90 minutes each.

SESSION1 KEYNOTE PRESENTATIONS: DISASTER RESILIENCE IN PRACTICE (09:00 – 10:30)



09:00-09:15

Freek van der Meer (Dean ITC) – Opening of the day
Desiree Hoving (moderator) -  Overview of the program

09:15-09:45

Fausto Guzzetti General Director of the Office III for Technical and scientific activities for the prediction and preventionof risks, of the Italian National Civil Defense Department, and office of the Italian Prime Minister.
Title: Geographical Information Science for Natural Hazard Assessment and Civil Protection in Italy

09:45-09:50

Q and A

09:50-10:20

Sekhar Lukose Kuriakose Member Secretary (ex-officio), KSDMA & Head (Scientist), State Emergency Operations Centre, Govt. of Kerala, India
Title: to be announced

10:20-10:25

Q and A

10:25-10:30

Desiree Hoving - Closing

10.30-11:00

Break

SESSION 2 HOW CAN GENDER EQUALITY, DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION SUPPORT RESILIENCE?  (11:00 – 12:30)

               

In this session, female scientists and practitioners talk about gender equality, diversity and inclusion in disaster risk science and practice.

Please join our questionnaire on Gender Equality, diversity and inclusion. 





11.00-11:0

Desiree Hoving - Opening

11:04-11:12

Alessandra Zampieri Head of the Disaster Risk Management Unit of the EU-JRC
Title: Reflections upon a gender-equitable DRM science

11:12-11:20

Mika Shimizu Associate Professor in Graduate School of Advanced Integrated Studies in Human Survivability, Kyoto University
Title: Collaborative Knowledge Creation-based Resilience in a Modern Risk Society

11:20-11:30

Madhumita Chatterji ABBS School of Management, Bangalore
Title: A Cross Cultural Understanding of Work Life Balance during the Pandemic

Panel discussion 

11:30-11:35

Funda Atun - Introduction and setting the stage

11:35-11:40

Desiree Hoving - Opening and introduction of the panelists

11:40-12:25

Panel discussion with:
Mika Shimizu Associate Professor in Graduate School of Advanced Integrated Studies in Human Survivability, Kyoto University
Madhumita Chatterji ABBS School of Management, Bangalore
and:
Ana Maria Cruz Director of Disaster Prevention Research Institute, Kyoto University and President of IDRiM Society
Alessandra Zampieri Head of the Disaster Risk Management Unit of the EU-JRC
Diana Reckien Associate Professor at UT-ITC
Vanessa Magnanimo Chair of the Female Faculty Network Twente and Associate Professor of Soil Micro-Mechanics at UT-ET
Veronica Junjan Assistant professor at UT-BMS
Diana Maria Contreras Mojica Lecturer at Cardiff University, UK

12:25-12:30

Desiree Hoving - Closing

12:30 - 13:00

Lunch buffet

12:45-13:20

Registration session 3 inauguration CDR

SESSION 3 INAUGURATION OF THE UT-ITC CENTRE FOR DISASTER RESILIENCE (CDR) (13:30 – 15:00)                


13:30-13:35

Freek van der Meer - Word of welcome

13:35-13:40

Maarten van Aalst - Introducing H.R.H. Princes Margriet and Prof. van Vollenhoven

13:40-13:50

Prof. van Vollenhoven - his view on Disaster Resilience

13:50-14:00

H.R.H. Princes Margriet - her view on Disaster Resilience

14:00-14:10

Official opening of the CDR by H.R.H. Princes Margriet and Irene Manzella

14:10-14:15

Maarten van Aalst - Word of thanks

14:15-14:25

Irene Manzella - Introduction to the Centre and its ambitions

14:25-14:30

Congratulations from alumni

14:30-14:55

Diana Reckien - key-note lecture

14:55-15:00

Irene Manzella - closing

15:00-15:30 

Break

SESSION 4 COLLABORATION & NETWORKING (15:30 – 17:00)

Panel on communication

15:30-15:35

Desiree Hoving  Opening and introduction

15:35-15:50

Self introduction of the panellists
Heather Handley, Macquarie University, Australia
Paolo Tarolli, EGU
Peeranan, ADPC
Kara Siahaan, Anticipation Hub
Funda Atun, ITC

15:50-16:10

Panel discussion

16:10-16:15

Desiree Hoving - closing

Panel on networking

16:20-16:25

Desiree Hoving Opening and introduction

16:25-16:40

Self introduction of the panellists
Irene Manzella, CDR
Gilberto Camara, GEO
Didier Vascutsum, ISOCARP
Kenneth Mubea, Digital Africa
Vivian Deparday, World Bank

16:40-17:00

Panel discussion

17:00-17:15

Desiree Hoving - closing

17:15

Closing drinks

SHORT BIOS OF OUR SPEAKERS 


Alessandra Zampieri (JRC, Head of E1 Unit)
Alessandra is the Head of the Disaster Risk Management Unit at the European Commission's Joint Research Centre. The mission of this Unit is to strengthen the EU’s resilience to crises and disasters and to help implement the EU’s aim to promote stability and peace through its research in crisis management technologies as well as in information mining and analysis. Alessandra is also responsible for running the European Commission’s Knowledge Centre on Disaster Risk Management.  

Her career started in Brussels, where she joined the European Commission immediately after graduating in Economics, at the University of Genoa. She spent several years formulating transport policies, first in the competent Commission services and then in the Cabinet of Vice President De Palacio. In 2009 she joined the Joint Research Centre as Head of the Maritime Affairs Unit tasked with developing scientific and technological methodologies for EU policies related to the sea. Subsequently she was appointed Head of the Demography, Migration and Governance Unit where she was responsible for the Knowledge Centre on Migration and Demography (KCMD) that aims to provide EU migration policymakers with policy-relevant knowledge and evidence-based analysis.


Mika Shimizu, Associate Professor in Graduate School of Advanced Integrated Studies in Human Survivability, Kyoto University

Mika Shimizu is an Associate Professor in Graduate School of Advanced Integrated Studies in Human Survivability, Kyoto University. Previously, she served as a policy researcher at the Nomura Research Institute, America, as a special assistant at the Japanese Embassy in Washington DC, and as a visiting researcher in the East-West Center in Honolulu in the United States. She holds an MA from American University and a Ph.D. in International Public Policy from Osaka University (2006). She has been extensively involved in policy research projects related to global issues, natural disaster/infectious diseases, and resilience and governance.

Abstract: The presentation will provide how gender equity, diversity and inclusion in disaster risk management is interrelated with enabling resilience and creating a resilient society. Especially in the fluid, complex, and uncertain natural, social, and risk environment that constitutes a "modern risk society", different risks at diverse scales and dimensions are increasingly interconnected, leading to cascading disaster risks, with high complexity and uncertainty in multiple short- and long-term impacts. Especially addressing the challenge requires a collaborative knowledge creation-based resilience through processes that foster collaborative knowledge and connect people, institutions and systems beyond different demarcations including genders, ages able/disable, and expertise. The presenter will provide real experiences and case studies in disaster risk management research/practices to articulate what collaborative knowledge creation-based resilience is and why it is a critical agent in enabling resilience and creating a resilient society in a modern risk society.   

Madhumita Chatterji, ABBS School of Management, Bangalore 

Dr. Madhumita Chatterji is Director of ABBS School of Management Bangalore. Dr. Chatterji specialises in Organisational Behaviour & Human Resource Management. She has worked extensively in the areas of Corporate Social Responsibility, Corporate Governance & Business Ethics. Her work also covers Cross Cultural Management Processes, Business History and Indian Ethos & Culture. She has earned MA, MBA with University rank and gold medal and completed her Ph.D from Jadavpur University, Kolkata, India. She has completed courses from University of Oxford UK and Harvard Business School, USA. She has four books to her credit namely "The Ksatriyas in Ancient India, "Corporate Social Responsibility" "Ethical Leadership-Indian and European Spiritual Approaches" edited by her and Prof. Laszlo and "New Frontiers in Conflict Management, Peace Economics and Peace Science' jointly edited with Prof. Partha Gangopadhyay. She is associated with various academic and non academic bodies. She is Member, Advisory Board of European SPES Institute, Founding Board member of South Asian Alliance of Disaster Research Institutes (SAADRI), was Board member of SAQS Accreditation Committee a SAARC body and, is a member of IDRiM. She is also a member of the regional Board of National Institute of Open Schooling.

Abstract: The threats posed by Coronavirus pandemic have initiated global changes in all areas of life, including the workplace. Numerous employees became unemployed, others are subject to major pay reductions and most of work is carried out online from employees' home. In many countries, these processes take place in an environment of total uncertainty regarding the time of return to "normality" and the impact of current changes on the future workplace. The work-life balance has been hit hard in either direction and for all the genders in workplace. This paper is an attempt to explore the evolving nature of work-life balance during pandemic among Covid hit countries and finding ground, similarities and dissimilarities of worklife balance nature in those countries. The countries in comparative study are India, Israel, UK and Spain. The subjects are reviewed for the new work-life-balance, working under the luxury of their home environment and how they are coping for their mental health. Based on the vast literature on the critical role of management in times of crisis, the proposed research focuses on manager's perspective. The research is expected to elaborate the understanding of leadership during a crisis by providing information on cross-cultural managerial experiences in adapting to a novel extreme comprehensive crisis.


Ana Maria Cruz, director of Disaster Prevention Research Institute, Kyoto University and President of IDRiM Society

Prof Ana Maria Cruz is a Professor at the Disaster Prevention Research Institute of Kyoto University in Japan. She is a chemical engineer, and holds a MSc. in Applied Development and an Ph.D. in Environmental Engineering with a focus on Hazards Research from Tulane University in New Orleans, USA. She has been investigating natural hazard triggered technological accidents (known as Natechs) since 1998. Her research interests include disaster risk management of flood, storm, earthquake, tsunami and climate change-induced impacts on industry, related infrastructure systems, as well as potentially affected communities; Natech accident investigation and consequence analysis; Natech risk governance and risk communication; and Natech evacuation planning through participatory community approaches. She has over 65 peer-reviewed publications in international journals, books and book chapters. She is the President of the International Society for Integrated Disaster Risk Management (IDRiM Society), and she is a member of several international committees for Natech risk reduction.

Diana Reckien, Associate Professor at the Faculty of Geo-Information Science and Earth Observation (ITC), Department of Urban and Regional Planning and Geo-Information Management (PGM)

Dr. Diana Reckien is Associate Professor of Climate Change and Urban Inequalities at ITC. She is also currently Coordinating Lead Author of the Sixth Assessment Report of the IPCC. She specialises at the interface of climate change and urban research, with the aim to contribute to justice efforts. One of her main research foci is on climate governance and its interaction with equity and justice, social vulnerability, and climate change migration. She mainly investigates how climate policies affect and interact with social vulnerability and how to set up adaptation and mitigation policies in order to avoid negative side-effects.

Vanessa Magnanimo, Associate Professor, Faculty of Engineering Technology, University of Twente, Netherlands

Dr Vanessa Magnanimo is the chair of the Female Faculty Network Twente and Associate Professor of Soil Micro-Mechanics at the Faculty of Engineering Technology. Her research interests are primarily in the area of theoretical analysis and modern simulation techniques applied to wave propagation and constitutive modelling of materials with an internal micro-structure such as soils. I am interested in the use of advanced optimisation techniques to improve soil performances and mitigate natural hazards.

Veronica Junjan, Assistant Professor, Public Management, Faculty of BMS, University of Twente, Netherlands

Dr Veronica Junjan is an assistant professor in Public Management with the Section of Public Administration, Faculty of Behaviour, Management and Social Sciences. Her research generally addresses administrative and governance reforms. Currently, her research interest  focuses on analysing the changes in tasks of government in light of new technological developments, with particular focus on administrative capacity building for resilience, at national as well as local level.

Diana Maria Contreras Mojica, Lecturer at Cardiff University, United Kingdom (ITC Alumni, UPM MSc 2009)

Dr Diana Contreras recently started as Lecturer in Geospatial Science at Cardiff University. Previously, she was a Research Associate at Newcastle University in UK for the project: 'Learning from Earthquakes (LfE) UK'. She is a member of the Management Committee of the Earthquake Engineering Field Investigation Team (EEFIT). Dr Contreras wrote her Doctoral dissertation on the topic of spatial indicators of recovery after earthquakes. After finishing her doctoral studies, she led the Social Vulnerability and Resilience team at the Global Earthquake Model (GEM) foundation. She was a Postdoctoral Researcher at the Research Center for Integrated Natural Disaster Management (CIGIDEN) in Chile. Her Master in Urban Planning and Management included her thesis on designing a spatial planning support system for building damage survey after an earthquake. Before her Master studies, she worked as Project Manager Assistant at the Institute of Risk Management and Climate Change (IDIGER) in Bogota, Colombia.

Funda Atun, Assistant Professor, at the Faculty of Geo-Information Science and Earth Observation (ITC), Department of Urban and Regional Planning and Geo-Information Management (PGM)

Dr Funda Atun is an urban planner (BSc, MSc and PhD) and a sociologist (BA).  She has a track record in the field of societal resilience, disaster risk reduction and climate change adaptation. She is the IDRiM Women in Science and Practice community chair and a part of a large international network involved as an invited expert, a project proposal reviewer, and attending conferences as a presenter invited young researcher and keynote speaker. She has served on international scientific advisory boards in various conferences on disaster risk, climate change and resilient cities. She was the Founder and Head of "the Others and Disasters" NGO, established in Italy in 2016.