Center for Rebuilding

Sustainable Communities after
Disasters

John W. McCormack Graduate School of Policy and
Global Studies

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Remarks

Dear Partners, Friends, and Colleagues,

 Adenrele Awotona.2011 photo 

On November 15th, Provost Winston Langley hosted a reception for University College, University of Massachusetts Boston's newest college.  He shared his vision for the college and Philip DiSalvio, Dean of University College, spoke about the state of the college and exciting new initiatives it was undertaking. I had the honor and privilege to present a brief paper which described my experiences in developing and launching a new graduate certificate program in alliance with University College.  Moreover, the paper highlighted some of the compelling reasons why CRSCAD works, and delights in working, collaboratively with University College.

 

On November 17, CRSCAD's International Advisory Board held its inaugural meeting on our campus.  Amongst other things, I presented a  report which provided a summary of the activities that the Center had been engaged in from July 6, 2008 to November 17, 2011.

 

And, from November 17 to 18, 2011, CRSCAD hosted an International Workshop on Innovation, Diversity and Sustainable Development in Areas of Social Vulnerability. I am enormously pleased to inform you that it was well attended and very successful. (See the highlights below.)

 

I would like to express my profound gratitude to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security's  Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) for providing technical assistance, a keynote speaker and panelists for the workshop.  In particular, I express thanks to Marcie Roth, a keynote speaker and the Director of the Office of Disability Integration and Coordination at FEMA;  W. Russell "Russ" Webster,  Federal Preparedness Coordinator, FEMA Region I; and Eleanor Jewett, the Regional Strategic Planner and Analyst, and the Regional Disability Coordinator for FEMA Region I.  I would also like to thank Takeshi Hikihara, Consul General of Japan in Boston for his instructive and enlightening keynote speech titled, Japan: Eight Months After the Earthquake.

 

Finally, it is with great pleasure that I announce that our next international conference on Rebuilding Sustainable Communities after Disasters in China: Best Practices and Lessons Learned will be held at the University of Massachusetts Boston from November 15-16, 2012. CRSCAD is organizing the event in partnership with the China Program Center at University College and in collaboration with several universities in China. I cordially invite all of you to "save the date" and support and attend the event.

 

I thank you.

 

 Adenrele.Awotona.Signature

Adenrele Awotona

Founding Director & Professor

 

Highlights 

International Workshop Examines Post-Disaster Rebuilding in  

Japan and Global Social Vulnerabilities   

                                                    By Muna Killingback 

 

        

 

Preparation made all the difference for the Tohuku schools when the 3/11 earthquake and tsunami struck Japan.

  

In most schools, staff had agreed on an evacuation route in advance, and that careful planning saved nearly 3,000 students in Kamaishi City.  But at the Okawa Elementary School in Miyagi, valuable time was lost as teachers tried to agree on where to go.  As a result, 68 of the school's 108 pupils died.

  

The Consul General of Japan in Boston Takeshi Hikihara gave this example as part of his frank assessment of Japan's preparedness and rebuilding process following its 9.0 magnitude earthquake and tsunami to an international audience of a workshop at UMass Boston on November 17-18.

 

Read more 

 

View the Workshop Presentations   

 

View Workshop Photographs 

    

 Video
Human Dignity, Human Rights, and Sustainable Post-Disaster Reconstruction



This course will be taught in Spring 2012 and will explore the intersecting dynamics of human dignity, humiliation, and human rights in the context of post-disaster reconstruction.
ChinaConference 
Save the Date November 15-16, 2012 for
CRSCAD's
International Conference on
An event of the
Center for Rebuilding Sustainable Communities after Disasters (CRSCAD)
McCormack Graduate School of Policy and Global Studies,
University of Massachusetts Boston
and the
China Program Center, University College, University of Massachusetts Boston

 

U.S. News and World Report identified  Emergency Management Specialist as one of the 50 Best Jobs of 2011, predicting that it will have "strong growth over the next decade."  

 

 "...There are a variety of private-sector or nonprofit employers that require emergency management specialists because of a particularly sensitive line of work where emergencies are prone to happen or could be potentially devastating. Examples of these employers include hospitals, colleges and universities, and community relief organizations.."

 from U.S News and World Report    

 

About CRSCAD:   

The primary purpose of the Center for Rebuilding Sustainable Communities after Disasters (CRSCAD) is to work in close collaboration with practitioners, academics, researchers, policy makers and grassroots organizations in the United States of America and in all the continents of the world in their search for the most appropriate and sustainable ways to rebuild their communities after disasters.

 

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