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Report of ICHARM Inuaugural Ceremony and Commemorative Symposium on 14th September

The Inaugural Ceremony and Commemorative Symposium of the "International Centre for Water Hazard and Risk Management (ICHARM)" were held at the U Thant Hall of the United Nation University in Shibuya, Tokyo, on 14th September, 2006.

ICHARM is an organization under the auspices of UNESCO and working towards preventing and mitigating water-related disasters around the world by integrating and conducting researches, trainings, and information networking. The Japanese government's proposal to establish ICHARM as a part of the Public Works Research Institute (PWRI) was approved by 119 member countries at the 33rd General Conference of UNESCO held in October 2005. The plan was then endorsed by the Cabinet of the Japanese government on 3rd March, 2006. On the same day, the agreement for the establishment of ICHARM was made between the government and UNESCO as well as between PWRI and UNESCO. Finally, on 6th March, the establishment of ICHARM was announced.

For the Inaugural Ceremony and Commemorative Symposium, we invited people from all over the world, such as UNESCO regional representatives, officials from the UNESCO headquarter in Paris, and representatives from the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) in Geneva on the occasion of the first Advisory Board meeting on 15th September. Approximately 300 people attended the ceremony and expressed heartfelt congratulations for the launch of ICHARM. The guests were from a variety of organizations, including foreign diplomatic missions in Japan and domestic institutes that have close ties with PWRI. Among the guests were Mr. Kazuo Kitagawa (Then Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport), Mr. Ryuji Matsumura (Then Senior Vice-Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport), Mr. Takeshi Kadomatsu (Director-General of the River Bureau, Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport), Mr. Tsuneyoshi Mochizuki (Director-General of the National Institute for Land and Infrastructure Management), Mr. Tadamichi Yamamoto (Director-General of the Public Diplomacy Department, Ministry of Foreign Affairs), Mr. Kenji Seyama (Director-General for International Affairs, Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology), as well as ambassadors of countries including Costa Rica and Haiti.

At the beginning of the ceremony, Mr. Tadahiko Sakamoto, a Chief Executive of PWRI, greeted the guests and expressed gratitude for the cooperation from concerned organizations. He also spoke about ICHARM regarding its background, significance and long-term visions. Then, congratulatory speeches were made by several guests such as Mr. Andras Szollosi-Nagy (Deputy Assistant Director General, UNESCO), Mr. Yamamoto (Director of the Public Diplomacy Department, Ministry of Foreign Affairs), Mr. Seyama (Director-General for International Affairs, Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology), Mr. Avinash Tyagi (Director of the Hydrology and Water Resources Department, WMO) and Mr. Max Bond (Executive Officer of the United Nations University).

Mr. Kitagawa, joined the ceremony despite his busy schedule and also gave a congratulatory speech to ICHARM. The audience applauded heartily when the minister handed the ICHARM sign, which he wrote himself, to Mr. Sakamoto. And then, Mr. Szollosi-Nagy handed the United Nations flag to Mr. Kuniyoshi Takeuchi, a Director of ICHARM. Additionally, many other congratulatory messages, which were received from various organizations and individuals, were presented at the ceremony. After that, Mr. Takeuchi introduced ICHARM's objectives, action polices and activity plans.

After the ICHARM Inaugural Ceremony, the Commemorative Symposium on the theme of "Alliance for Localism" (International Coalition to Solve Local Issues) was held. In the symposium, six speakers presented their views on the present situation of water-related disasters around the world and various approaches for prevention and mitigation.