BDC Magazine - Uni Takes Lead At International Conference On Building Resilience

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Professor Dilanthi Amaratunga, who is co-director of the Global Disaster Resilience Centre  (GDRC) at the University of Huddersfield, gave the opening address at the 7th International Conference on Building Resilience, which was chaired by Professor Amaratunga and her colleague, Professor Richard Haigh. Held in Bangkok, it was attended by more than 300 academics, practitioners, professionals and policymakers from around the world.

Sri Lankan-born Professor Amaratunga recalled the impact of the 2004 Tsunami, which devastated many communities across the region, including Thailand. As a response to hazards of this scale, she called for “all countries to act in a new spirit of partnership to build a safer world based on common interests and shared responsibility”.

“Regional and international research will significantly enhance countries’ ability to achieve real progress, in mitigating disasters through the transfer of technology and the sharing of information,” added Professor Amaratunga.

The conference sought to bridge the gap between the research community in disaster risk reduction, and policy and practice. Experts from all regions shared the latest research being conducted by universities and research institutes, much of it undertaken in response to the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction, which maps out the course of global action over the next 15 years.