The UN Sasakawa Award for Disaster Reduction

In Geneva, the ISDR Secretariat’s Headquarters, the ceremony of the UN Sasakawa Award for Disaster Reduction was the highlight of the celebration of the International Day for Disaster Reduction. The Director-General of the United Nations Office at Geneva was represented by Mr. Rubens Ricupero, Secretary-General of the UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD). The Nippon Foundation, the sponsor of the Sasakawa Award, was represented by Mr. Shuichi Ohno, Director of International Affairs. Further participants came from the academic sector, the media, the diplomatic community as well as UN agencies and programmes based in Geneva. The traditional Message of the UN Secretary-General on the occasion of the International Day for Disaster Reduction was read out.

The 2002 Sasakawa Award laureate is Professor Sergueï Balassanian, President of the Armenian Association of Seismology and Physics of the Earth’s Interior (AASPEI), for his long-term commitment to the issue of seismic disaster risk reduction, and for his efforts in rallying scientific and political audiences to disaster reduction. Professor Balassian’s work has resulted in breakthroughs in scientific research, policy formulation and has engendered academic and inter-institutional collaboration in the field. The Sasakawa Award brings USD 40.000.