Strengthening Disaster Risk Governance to Manage Disaster Risk

Jose Manuel Mendes holds a PhD in Sociology from the School of Economics of the University of Coimbra, where he is an Associate Professor with Aggregation. He is also a researcher at the Centre for Social Studies, where he has been working in the fields of risk and social vulnerability, planning, public policies and citizenship. He is coordinator of the Risk Observatory (OSIRIS) of the Centre for Social Studies and is the Editor of Revista Critica de Ciencias Sociais. Gretchen Kalonji currently serves as the Dean of the Sichuan University - Hong Kong Polytechnic University Institute for Disaster Management and Reconstruction, and as Strategic Advisor to the Institutional Development of Sichuan University. She served almost four years as the Assistant Director-General for Natural Sciences at UNESCO, where she was responsible for strengthening the efforts of the organization in all aspects of the science and engineering enterprise, and for working together with the rest of UNESCO's senior leadership team in the design and implementation of interdisciplinary programs focusing on poverty eradication and sustainable development. Prior to joining UNESCO, she served in various leadership roles at the University of California, including as Director of International Strategy Development at the UC Office of the President and as Director of Systemwide Research Development. She holds or has held visiting faculty appointments at the Max Planck Institute (Stuttgart), the University of Paris, Tohoku University, Sichuan University, Tsinghua University, Peking University Graduate School in Shenzhen, and Hokkaido University. Rohit Jigyasu is a Professor at Ritsumeikan University. He is also President of the ICOMOS International Scientific Committee on Risk Preparedness. He is a heritage conservation and risk management professional and senior advisor at the Indian Institute for Human Settlements (IIHS) based in Bangalore, India. Rohit has also been teaching as the visiting faculty at several national and international academic institutions in India and abroad. As UNESCO Chair Professor in Japan, he is the scientific coordinator International Programme on Disaster Risk Management of Cultural Heritage. Rohit has also been consultant to several national and international organizations like Archaeological Survey of India, National Institute of Disaster Management, Indian Institute of Human Settlements (IIHS), UNESCO, UNISDR, UNDP, ICCROM, Aga Khan Planning and Building Services and the Getty Conservation Institute for conducting research and training on Cultural Heritage Risk Management. He has been working for UNESCO and other international organizations like World Seismic Safety Initiative (WSSI) for undertaking post-earthquake assessments in Gujarat, Kashmir, Indonesia and Bhutan. Alice is a Senior Lecturer with the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at the University of Auckland, New Zealand. She is also a visiting scholar at Purdue University (Construction Engineering and Management SPARK Laboratory) and at University of Colorado, Boulder (Department of Civil Engineering) under the New Zealand James and Hazel Lord Fellowship. Alice has a background in civil engineering and disaster risk reduction - has extensive disaster field experience and knowledge in Indonesia, China, Australia, New Zealand, Japan and the USA. Her main research interests include disaster risk reduction, climate change adaption, construction technology, construction automation, smart cities and smart housing. Alice has also provided consulting for the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Secretariat in 2013, and served as a consulting engineer for Care International, Canada in its Post-Tsunami Housing Reconstruction Programme, Banda Aceh, in 2008.