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USMCA2015 concluded successfully
The 14th international symposium on new technologies for Urban Safety of Mega Cities in Asia (USMCA2015) was concluded successfully in the capital city of Nepal. The internationally acclaimed symposium was observed thru 29 – 31 October, 2015 at Radisson Hotel in Kathmandu. The conference had extensive participation of around 250 scientists, researchers, practitioners, professionals and other DRR (Disaster Risk Reduction) stakeholders from 8 different countries within the continent.
The symposium was inaugurated by the Honorable Minister Mr. Som Prasad Pandey, Ministry of Industry and the Opening Ceremony was chaired by Mr. Shiva Bahadur Pradhanang, President, NSET (National Society for Earthquake Technology-Nepal). Remembering 9,000 lost lives and nearly 800,000 homeless families to the Gorkha Earthquake 2015, Mr. Pandey reinforced the safer reconstruction commitments of the government to build back better during his inaugural remarks. The inaugural session was also addressed by Mr. Gangalal Tuladhar, Member of Parliament and Ex. Education Minister, of Nepal, Mr. Masashi Ogawa, Ambassador of Japan to Nepal, Mr. Hiroyasu Tonokawa, Senior Representative, JICA Nepal , Prof. Kimiro Meguro - Director of ICUS, IIS, The University of Tokyo, Japan and Dr. Amod Mani Dixit, Executive Director of NSET, Nepal.
Prof. Kimiro Meguro and Dr. Amod Mani Dixit were among the first two keynote presenters in the first plenary session chaired by Prof. Dr. Jib Raj Pokharel and Ms. Tomoko Matsushita. The keynote presenters, Prof. Reiko Kuwano and Mr. Suresh Prakash Acharya presented their papers in the second plenary session, chaired by Mr. Shiva Bahadur Pradhanang and Ms. Tomoko Matsushita.
Although the symposium was proposed to be organized in Nepal during the closing ceremony of 13th USMCA2014 in Myanmar, the relevance and significance of this symposium have multiplied further due to the recent earthquake devastations in Nepal. The scientific discourse was heavily focused on various facets of urban disaster safety including Disaster Risk Management, Urban Planning, Environmental Safety as well as lessons learnt from the recent Gorkha Earthquake 2015. Altogether 7 keynote presentations and 80 scientifically researched papers were presented during the parallel sessions tightly scheduled within the 3 days long intensive discourse.
Towards the end of the symposium, the third plenary session, keynote presentations by Dr. Somanath Sapkota, Prof. Kazuki Koketsu and Dr. Ramesh Guragain, was followed by the closing ceremony and speeches by the NSET and the ICUS (International Center for Urban Safety, University of Tokyo, Japan). The symposium bade goodbye to all the USMCA2015 participants in Nepal after announcing the Philippines as the next destination for the USMCA2016.
