SENDAI -Towards a Disaster-Resilient and Environmentally-Friendly City

1. Date and Time

March 8, 2025 (Sat.) From 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

2. Venue

Sendai International Center Exhibition Building, etc.

3. Organizer

City of Sendai

4. Co-organizers

Miyagi Prefecture, International Research Institute of Disaster Science (IRIDeS) of Tohoku University

5. Event Composition

（1）Presentation: 27 groups
（2）Workshop: 9 groups
（3）Exhibition booths and posters：106 groups
（4）Stage event
（5）Exhibition of DRR vehicles: 1 group
（6）DRR Karuta (playing cards) in Easy Japanese
（7）DRR quiz “Escape from Disaster City“
（8）DRR stamp collection campaign
（9）Sendai Symposium for DRR and the Future Interactive Tour
（10）Wall panels: Sendai Framework@10 Exhibition

6. Number of Admission

Approx. 5,300 people

7. Outcome Summary

This symposium was held with consideration to diverse perspectives across generations, genders and nationalities that work together to promote DRR initiatives under the theme of “Everyone is a main character: let’s join together and raise awareness of disaster risk reduction!”.
On the day of the event, the city held programs that provided knowledge and insights on a wide range of topics showcasing a broad definition of DRR, including reconstruction, passing on knowledge to future generations, disaster mitigation, local DRR and the environment. More than 140 participated groups also shared their everyday DRR initiatives.
In presentations, asides from introducing initiatives that each group partake in, many groups introduced their disaster responses and reconstruction efforts regarding the 2024 Noto Peninsula Earthquake. In addition, workshops such as board games and making of items useful during evacuation that allow people to think about their actions at times of disasters were held, with all sessions achieving a high turnout rate. In the booths area, there were many exhibitions curated by students, and the atmosphere was vibrant.
Furthermore, stage events this year included talks by JSDF members and sports players who were active in Sendai; the very popular Bo-Science Show, which combines BOSAI (DRR) and science, and performance by a comedian, Yoshio KOJIMA. These events were enjoyed by audience of all ages.

Furthermore, during the symposium, a card game called Karuta was used to teach DRR-related terminology in easy Japanese, and an English Interactive Tour of the venue was held for foreign participants; these elements were implemented following the World BOSAI Forum which took place from March 7 to March 9, 2025.

During the closing ceremony, Mr. Sujit MOHANTY, Chief of the Intergovernmental Processes, Interagency Cooperation and Partnerships Branch of the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR) shared his hope for the promotion of the Sendai Framework. Mr. Kamal KISHORE, the Special Representative of the United Nations Secretary-General (SRSG) for Disaster Risk Reduction and Head of UNDRR also recorded a special video message to congratulate the panel exhibitions commemorating the 10th anniversary of the adoption of the “Sendai Framework”.
Ms. Yuki MATSUOKA, Head of the UNDRR office in Kobe, introduced the content of the exhibition; while Mr. Shinichi KURIYAMA, Director of IRIDeS of Tohoku University shared a general summary of the event that emphasized the significance of and the need to continue this symposium. Lastly, in her closing remarks, Mayor Kazuko KOHRI mentioned the importance of passing on experiences and lessons from disasters into the future.
Moreover, donation boxes were set up in the venue to raise funds for those who suffered from a wildfire in Ofunato city in Iwate Prefecture from February to March of 2025. At the end, a total of 7,397 yen were collected. The donation will be used to support wildfire victims through the Japan Red Cross. We would like to thank all participants for their warm support and cooperation.

8. Pictures of the Event

• 
  Presentation
• 
  Workshop
• 
  Stage event
• 
  Exhibition booths
• 
  Poster presentations
• 
  DRR Karuta (playing cards) in Easy Japanese
• 
  Closing ceremony
• 
  Panel exhibition at Aoba-no-Kaze Terrace
• 
  Interactive Tour
• 
  Food trucks
• 
  Exhibitions of DRR Vehicles
• 
  DRR stamp collection campaign