SPEAKERS
SAKATA Natsuko
TCS Deputy Secretary-General
Deputy Secretary-General SAKATA Natsuko graduated from the University of Tokyo (Law) and earned LL.M from New York University School of Law. Lately she completed the Program on US-Japan Relations at Harvard University. She entered the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan in 1995, and began her diplomatic career in Asian and Oceanian Affairs Bureau. Since 2011, she served as Counsellor in Embassies of Japan in Malaysia, United States and the Republic of Korea, as well as the Permanent Delegation of Japan to the OECD and the Cabinet Secretariat. She became Deputy Secretary-General of the Trilateral Cooperation Secretariat in September 2021.
OU Boqian
TCS Secretary-General
Secretary-General Amb. OU Boqian graduated from China Foreign Affairs University and received Master of International Policy and Practice from Elliott School of International Affairs, George Washington University. She joined the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of China in 1989, and served in different positions at Department of African affairs, Information Department, Policy Planning Department and General Office. Her career in early years also includes the posts at oversea missions of China in Uganda and Australia. She became Ambassador exatraordinary and Plenipotentiary of China to Grenada in 2013, and was Vice President of Chinese People’s Institute of Foreign Affairs in 2017-2021. She took office as Secretary-General of the Trilateral Cooperation Secretariat in September 2021.
Marco TOSCANO-RIVALTA
Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific of UNDRR Chief
Marco TOSCANO-RIVALTA is Chief of the Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific of the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR). He is a member of the Board of Advisors on Least Developed Countries (LDCs), Landlocked Developing Countries (LLDCs) and Small Island Developing States (SIDS) to the 75th President of the United Nations General Assembly. Previously, he was Chief of the UNDRR Liaison Office in New York. He supported the drafting and negotiations of the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015-2030 as secretary to the Bureau of the Third United Nations World Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction. He also served as the secretary to the General Assembly Working Group on Indicators and Terminology Relating to Disaster Risk Reduction.
He has over 20 years of international experience and served with the UN and other international organizations at the headquarters and in the field in the areas of refugee and IDPs protection, humanitarian relief, promotion and protection of human rights, justice administration, sustainable development and disaster risk management.
He holds a degree in law from the University of Bologna, Italy.
LUO Weier
National Disaster Reduction Centre of China, CHINA
Weier LUO is Project Officer in the Airborne Remote Sensing Application Department of the National Disaster Reduction Center of China (NDRCC) at the Ministry of Emergency Management (MEM). She holds a Master’s degree in Engineering Management from the University of Melbourne and a dual Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, as well as Traffic and Transport Engineering. Her research focuses on disaster risk reduction, emergency management and relevant technical support activities. Now she participates in the UAV Monitoring Cooperation Mechanism Construction Project and Early Warning of Geological Disaster Project at the NDRCC.
IKEDA Makoto
Asian Disaster Reduction Centre, Japan
Dr.IKEDA Makoto is Senior Researcher at the Asian Disaster Reduction Center (ADRC), an institution established in Kobe, Japan in 1998, with a mission to enhance disaster resilience of the member countries, to build safe communities, and to create a sustainable society. Since he began his career at the ADRC, he has gained exaperiences both in administrative and technical aspects through various training programs. In the past several years, he participated in diverse projects including the “Project for Assessment of Earthquake Disaster Risk for the Kathmandu Valley in Nepal,” organized by the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) in Nepal, and the “Research Project on Enhancement of Technology to Develop Tsunami-resilient Community – Collaboration with Chile to Prevent Future Tsunami Tragedies –,” organized by the Science and Technology Research Partnership for Sustainable Development (SATREPS), etc. Currently, He is involved in projects regarding geospatial information in Geographic Information System (GIS) field.
CHO Si-beom
National Disaster Management Research Institute, Korea
Cho Si-Beom is Research Officer at the National Disaster and Safety Research Institute (NDSRI; Disaster Cause Investigation Office) at the Ministry of Interior and Safety (MOIS) of the Republic of Korea. Launched in 1997, the NDSRI aims to “develop policy research and science and technology for the realization of a safe Korea.” CHO obtained a Master's degree in coastal engineering and tsunami from Kwandong University. He joined the NDSRI in 2012 and wrote "Tsunami Hazard Mapping Through Characteristic Analysis of Inundation" and “Development of the Disaster Cause Investigation and Analysis Technology Based on Forest Science,” and conducted several other studies. Currently, he is studying drone-based field survey technology and serves as a member of the Korean delegation of ISO (ISO TC20/SC16, National Institute of Technology and Standards).
Rajib SHAW
Asia-Pacific Science Technology and Academia Advisory Group Chair
Rajib Shaw is a professor in Graduate School of Media and Governance in Keio University’s Shonan Fujisawa Campus (SFC). Earlier, he was the Executive Director of the Integrated Research on Disaster Risk (IRDR). He is also the Senior Fellow of Institute of Global Environmental Strategies (IGES) Japan, and the Chairperson of SEEDS Asia, a Japanese NGO. Previously, he served as a Professor in the Graduate School of Global Environmental Studies of Kyoto University. He is the chair of the United Nations Science Technology Advisory Group (STAG) for disaster risk reduction, and also the Coordinating Lead Author of Chapter 10 (Working Group II) of IPCC AR6. He is also the member of Science Committee of IRDR, and series editor of Springer series on disaster risk reduction.