JENESYS: Lessons from Hyogo

Starting the new year off strong Selane Tairea participated in the Japan-East Asia Network of Exchange for Students and Youths (JENESYS) program. Fully funded by the Japanese government, JENESYS is an initiative that promotes people to people exchange to build mutual understandings and friendships across the Asia-Pacific region. 

The theme for her cohort was Climate Change and Disaster Risk Prevention. With learning activities based in the Hyogo Prefecture, students closely examined the lessons Japan learnt from the Great Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake. 

“With no background in disaster prevention, at the JENESYS program, I learnt how disasters are not just natural events. They are the interaction between a natural phenomenon, such as an earthquake or cyclone, and a social phenomenon — vulnerability. Because this is fundamentally a human problem, it cannot be addressed from a single angle. It requires a holistic approach that tackles vulnerability. This is why the involvement of different agencies and organisations is critical. Governments, NGOs, the private sector, and communities each play distinct and necessary roles. Working together allows responsibility to be shared, accountability to be built, and the workload to be spread.” 

If this exchange is something that interests you please reach out to Selane Tairea or the University of the South Pacific for more information.

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