11 MARCH IN CONTEXT: HUMAN SECURITY PERSPECTIVES Wednesday 22 February 2012, 10:00 - 12:00 Elizabeth Rose Hall, United Nations University, Tokyo

Almost a year after the Great East Japan Earthquake, thousands of people are still struggling to rebuild their lives and communities. This event looks at the human consequences of 11 March in comparison to other major natural disasters, such as the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami, Hurricane Katrina in 2005 and the 2008 Sichuan earthquake. A panel of international experts will consider how a "human security" approach can help us understand and respond to these catastrophes. It will focus on the insecurities and vulnerabilities that are created and exacerbated by natural disasters, and the specific protection needs of women, children, elderly people and minorities. Reflecting the interdisciplinary nature of the human security concept, the event features practitioners and leading experts from a range of different fields-ethics, international relations, disaster sociology, development and public health:

* Paul James (Director, RMIT Global Cities Research
Institute)
* Naomi Zack (Professor, Department of Philosophy, University of Oregon)
* Yukie Osa (Professor, Rikkyo University; President, Association for Aid and Relief, Japan)
* Elaine Enarson (Ph.D., Independent Scholar, Lyons Colorado; Founding member, Gender and Disaster Network)
* Kaoruko Seki (Humanitarian Policy Officer, UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs)
* Paul Zeccola (AusAID; Australian National University)
* Emily Ying Yang Chan (Director, CERT-CUHK-Oxford University Centre for Disaster and Medical Humanitarian Response, Chinese University of Hong Kong)

To register to attend this event, please visit:
http://unu.edu/events/2012/11-march-in-context.html
Please note that this event will be conducted in English only; no Japanese interpretation will be provided.

To link in with the public event, I published an opinion piece yesterday in 'The Japan Times' that considers the significance of the idea of 'human security' for Japan after the 2011 Tohoku earthquake and tsunami. It can be read here:
http://www.japantimes.co.jp/text/eo20120216a1.html

This event is part of a collaborative research project on "Human Security and Natural Disasters", of UNU-ISP, the Waseda University School of International Liberal Studies, and the RMIT Global Cities Research Institute.
The project has been made possible by the support of the Japan Foundation.

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Dr. Christopher Hobson
Research Associate
Institute for Sustainability and Peace
United Nations University
5-53-70 Jingumae
Shibuya-ku
Tokyo 150-8925
Japan

Email: hobson[at]unu.edu
Web: http://unu.edu/faculty/christopher-hobson