Opening ceremony and three sessions
2020 forum speakers
Titles are given as they appeared in the 2020 programme. Photos appear only for speakers whose pictures survive.
Opening ceremony
10:00 - 10:30
Opening and congratulatory remarks, followed by the keynote address.
Opening remarks
Jeong Hyup Seo
Acting Mayor of Seoul
Biography
- Acting Mayor of Seoul Metropolitan Government (July 2020 -)
- Vice Mayor I for Administrative Affairs (January 2020)
- Deputy Mayor, Planning and Coordination Office (May 2019)
- Master of Public Administration, Harvard Kennedy School, Massachusetts, United States (June 2000)
Congratulatory remarks
Gino Van Begin
Secretary General of ICLEI
Biography
- Secretary General of ICLEI - Local Governments for Sustainability (2013-Present)
- Deputy Secretary General of ICLEI (2007-2012)
- Regional Director for Europe (2002-2012)
- Deputy Regional Director for Europe and Program Director LA21 (2000-2002)
Congratulatory remarks
Kyoung-yul Lee
Secretary General of WeGO
Biography
- Secretary General of WeGO
- Served as the Ambassador of the Republic of Korea to Angola
- Worked as the Director General for International Cooperation at the Ministry of Health & Welfare
- Served as the Minister-Counselor at the Korean Embassy in Warsaw
- Served as the Counselor at the Korean Embassy in Washington DC.
Keynote address
Mami Mizutori
Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Disaster Risk Reduction and Head of UNDRR
Biography
- United Nations Secretary-General announced the appointment of Mami Mizutori of Japan as Assistant Secretary-General and Special Representative of the Secretary General for Disaster Risk Reduction
- Position a combination of management and leadership expertise as well as more than 25 years of experience in international affairs and security
- Served for 27 years in the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs in various capacities
Session 1: Building community resilience after COVID-19
10:30 - 12:00
Once the first phase of the pandemic response passed, broken social systems had to be rebuilt and long-term resilience strengthened. This session looked at psychological preparedness, meaning disaster mental health services. Aftereffects reach citizens who were never directly hit, so community-level mental health care feeds into the resilience of the whole city.
Moderator
Hyeon-Suk Lyu
Senior Research Fellow of Korea Institute of Public Administration
Biography
- Senior Research Fellow, Korea Institute of Public Administration
- Visiting Scholar, University of Birmingham. U.K.
- Sessional Lecturer/External Affairs’ Officer, University of Manchester. U.K.
- Educational Content Developer, Hangul&Computer Co.
Speaker
Sanjaya Bhatia
Head of Office of UNDRR ONEA-GETI
Biography
- Head of the Office for Northeast Asia (ONEA) and Global Education and Training Institute (GETI) for Disaster Risk Reduction in Incheon, Republic of Korea
- Head of the International Recovery Platform (IRP) - Secretariat at Kobe, Japan
- Program Officer World Bank Group
- Government of India Civil Servant
Speaker
Anat Eizik Caspi
Head of Cities Partnerships & Deputy CRO, Tel-Aviv Yafo Municipality
Biography
- Deputy Chief Resilience Officer of RCN(Resilient Cities Network)
- Head of Resilience & Cities Partnerships, The Resilience & Social Equality Authority, Tel-AvivYafo Municipality (2015 - 2020)
- Municipal Social Engagement Coordinator, The municipal education administration, Tel-AvivYafo Municipality (2013 - 2015)
Speaker
Ahyani Rakasanagara
Head of Planning, Research and Development Office, Bandung
Biography
- Head of Development Planning and Research Agency (2019 - Present)
- Head of Communication and Informatics Department of Bandung City (2017 - 2019)
- 50 influential women in IT sector in Asia-Pacific E-Government: "Women in Gov Tech" 2017, 2018
Speaker
Hyun Soo Kim
Director of Seoul COVID-19 Psychological Support Center
Biography
- Clinical Associate Professor of Myongji Hospital, Department of Psychiatry (Present)
- Director of Seoul Suicide Prevention Center (Present)
- Director, Gyeonggi Mental Health Center (2012~2015)
- Director, Ansan Mental Health Trauma Center (2014)
- Director, Korea Psychological Autopsy Center (2015)
- Vice President, Korean Society of Traumatic Stress Studies (2014~2019)
- Principal, School Star (2002~)
Speaker
Kendra Hirata
Director of CityNet Yokohama Project Office
Biography
- Has been with CityNet for the past 11 years where he has been in charge of multiple programs including those related to Disaster Risk Reduction, Climate Change, Education as well as outreach programs in Japan
- Founder of Mitra Disaster Risk Reduction Learning Center which is the first DRR learning Center in Nepal established in 2019
Speaker
Amit Prothi
Regional Director of Resilient Cities Network Asia Pacific
Biography
- Head of India National Strategy at 100ResilientCities (100RC), a program of the Rockefeller Foundation.
- Has led or worked with multidisciplinary teams on thematic areas that relate directly to urban resilience, including environmental planning, urban policy, land use planning, natural resource management, flood management, disaster risk reduction, housing, and community development for more than 20 years.
Session 2: Smart and resilient urban infrastructure
13:30 - 15:00
Roads, subways, power lines, water supply and drainage are tightly interwoven to keep a city running, and the Fourth Industrial Revolution brought an always-on, always-connected expectation to them. The session presented an approach that builds on cities' record of innovation to make them more livable, healthier and safer.
Moderator
Inseok Koh
President of Seoul Institute of Technology
Biography
- - Visiting professor of University of Seoul
- - Worked in Seoul Metropolitan Government
- ㆍ’18.01 ~ ‘18.06 Director, Safety Management Headquarters
- ㆍ’15.07 ~ ‘17.12 Director, Urban Infrastructure Headquarters
- ㆍ’15.01 ~ ‘15.06 Vice Director, Office of Waterworks
- ㆍ’12.01 ~ ‘13.06 Director, Facility Safety Bureau, Urban Safety Office
- ㆍ’09.01 ~ ‘10.03 Director, Road Management Bureau, Urban Transportation Headquarters
Speaker
Je Hyun Han
Deputy Mayor of Safety Management, Seoul Metropolitan Government
Biography
- Deputy Mayor of Safety Management Office Seoul Metropolitan Government (SMG) (Jul.2020-Present)
- Deputy Mayor of Seoul Metropolitan Infrastructure Headquarters, SMG (Jul.2018 -Jun.2020)
- General Director of Water Circulation Safety Bureau, SMG (Aug.2015.-Dec.2017)
Speaker
Francis Ghesquiere
Practice Manager of Urban, Disaster Risk Management, Land and Geospatial, The World Bank
Biography
- Practice Manager for the World Bank East Asia and Pacific Region
- Head of the Global Facility for Disaster Risk Management (GFDRR) until June 2018
- Known for his leadership on several flagship initiatives, including the establishment of Caribbean Catastrophe Risk Insurance Facility (CCRIF), the Central America Probabilistic Risk Modeling Initiative, and the Understanding Risk Forum (UR)
Speaker
Nathan Pierce
Head of Smart London Team & Programme Director for Sharing Cities, Greater London Authority, London
Biography
- Head of the Smart London Team based in the Greater London Authority in the UK.
- Programme Director for Sharing Cities, a pan-European programme that tests out innovative smart city solutions across a number of major European cities, replicating and scaling what works through new business and investment models.
- 15 years’ experience across a range of public sector bodies having led on major service design and commissioning projects within London and at a European level.
Speaker
Junyoung Choi
Research Fellow of Seoul Institute of Technology
Biography
- Participated in the various national projects and researches on spatial policy support systems of housing and urban development for the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport of Republic of Korea in Korea Land and Housing corporation(LH)
- worked as a staff secondent in Safer Cities Programme, UN-Habitat in 2018. In 2020, he joined at the department of smart city research of the Seoul Institute of Technology as a research fellow
Speaker
Clara Muzzio
Minister of Public Space and Urban Hygiene, Buenos Aires
Biography
- Minister of Public Space and Urban Hygiene, CABA (2020-Present)
- Undersecretary of Pedestrian Roads - Ministry of the Environment and Public Space-CABA (2017-2019)
- Undersecretary for the Use of Public Space - Ministry of the Environment and Public Space-CABA (2016-2017)
Speaker
Luís Carvalho
Civil Protection Coordinator & Local Police Commander of Amadora Municipality
Biography
- Commander of Civil Protection Municipal Service and Local Police in Amadora since 2014.
- Local Focal Point(Amadora) and the National Advocate(Portugal) for “Making Cities Resilient Campaign” UNISDR (United Nations International Strategy for Disaster Reduction)
Session 3: Tracking cities' efforts for resilience in the COVID-19 era
16:00 - 17:30
Working from home pushed life toward digital, and social distancing became the norm. Starting from the view that this new normal will not reverse, cities around the world shared how they fought COVID-19 and prepared for what comes after.
Moderator
Hak Jin Kim
Vice Mayor of Seoul
Biography
- Vice Mayor II for Administrative Affairs, Seoul Metropolitan Government (Jul. 2020 - Present)
- Deputy Mayor of Safety Management Headquarters, Seoul Metropolitan Government (Jul. 2018 - Jun. 2020)
- Deputy Mayor of Seoul Metropolitan Infrastructure Headquarters, Seoul Metropolitan Government (Jan. 2018. - Jul. 2018)
- General Director of Urban Planning Bereau, Seoul Metropolitan Government (Jan.2016-Jan.2018)
Speaker
Ravinder Bhalla
Mayor of Hoboken
Biography
- Council President from 2011-2012, Council Vice-President from 2010-2011 & 2013-2014
- Chairman of the Hoboken Democratic Party from 2010-2011.
- Served as a local Democratic Committeeman for the 2nd Ward, 3rd District of Hoboken from 2007-2009
Speaker
Rosy Senanayake
Mayor of Colombo
Biography
- Served as State Minister of Child Affairs (2015)
- Elected to Parliament (2010)
- Coordinating Secretary of the United National Party’s Women’s wing (1995)
- Goodwill Ambassador for the United Nations, High Commissioner for Sri Lanka in Malaysia
- Deputy Chief of Staff and spokesperson for the Prime Minister.
Speaker
Mar-Len Abigail Binay
Mayor of Makati
Biography
- City Mayor, 2016 to present, City Government of Makati
- Congresswoman, 2007-2016, Philippines House of Representatives
- Lawyer, 2002-2007
Speaker
Luca Montuori
Deputy Mayor of Rome
Biography
- Deputy Mayor for urban planning at the municipality of Rome
- Associate Professor at the Faculty of Architecture at the Universita degli Studi di RomaTre
- PhD in Architecture and Urban Design
Speaker
Phoukhong Bannavong
Vice-mayor of Vientiane Capital
Biography
- Vice Mayor of Vientiane Capital and Director General of the Department of Planning and Investment, Vientiane Capital. (2019-)
- Director General of the Department of the Planning and Investment, Vientiane Capital. (2014-2019)
- Director General of Department of Evaluation, Ministry of Planning and Investment.(2011-2013)
Speaker
Eleni (Lenio) Myrivili
CRO and Senior Advisor of Athens
Biography
- Senior Advisor to the Mayor of Athens
- Senior Fellow and Consultant at the Atlantic Council’s AARF Resilience Center
- Chief Resilience Officer of Athens part of the Global Resilience Cities Network
- Former Deputy Mayor for the City of Athens
Speaker
Shu Zhu
Regional Director of ICLEI East Asia
Biography
- Has extensive experience in sustainable development and regional cooperation and has been serving as Regional Director of ICLEI East Asia Secretariat since 2015.
- Held leadership position at the UNDP Secretariat for Greater Tumen Initiative (GTI), an intergovernmental economic cooperation mechanism between China, Mongolia, Korea and Russian Federation
- Was a journalist and editor at the People’s Daily
Speaker
Josh Stanbro
CRO of Honolulu
Biography
- Chief Resilience Officer (CRO) and Executive Director, Office of Climate Change, Sustainability and Resiliency (2017-Present)
- Program Director- Strategies, Initiatives and Networks (2009-2017)
Speaker
Tom T.C. Chou
Commissioner of Mayor's Office for External Affairs, Taipei
Biography
- Commissioner, Mayor’s Office for External Affairs, Taipei City Government
- (Jul 2020 – Present)
- Spokeperson, Taipei City Government (Aug 2019 –Jul 2020)
- Deputy Chairperson, International Affairs Advisory Council, Taipei City Government (Jun 2019 - Present)
- Director General, Department of International Organizations, Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Sep 2013 –Jun 2015)
Speaker
Steve Gawler
Regional Director of ICLEI Oceania
Biography
- Joined ICLEI in 2008 as Director International Programs and was based in Jakarta for 7 years coordinating climate change and disaster risk reduction programs with cities in Indonesia and other parts of Asia.
- Managed projects funded by the Rockefeller Foundation, German Government and European Union
- In 2015, returned to Australia to take up the position of Regional Director.
- Before joining ICLEI, held senior management positions in Australian local governments for over 20 years.