2015年3月14日(土)~3月18日(水)の5日間、仙台にて第3回国連防災世界会議が開催されました。 開会式には天皇皇后両陛下、安倍総理をはじめとした日本政府関係者、また世界各国首脳級が開会式に出席され盛り上がりを見せる中、幕開けとなりました。 会議中は連日各国の代表団により議論が繰り広げられ、今後2015年~2030年の活動枠組みの指針「仙台防災枠組」と政治メッセージ「仙台宣言」が採択され、同日の閉幕式にて発表されました。 本体会議の他にも仙台市主要施設にて350を超えるサイドイベント(シンポジウムやパブリックフォーラム)が開催され、国連加盟国の186カ国の代表団また国内外から述べ14万人以上の参加者が仙台を訪れ開催期間中、寒い東北地方の風を吹き飛ばすように仙台市は大勢の来訪者の熱気に溢れておりました。復興に向けて歩む東北、また国際コンベンション都市としての仙台市の今後の歩みの出発点ともいえるこの貴重な会議に会議通訳者名42、運営スタッフ延べ220名が運営に携われたことを光栄に思います。また参加者、国連関係者と地元の方々をもてなす良い交流の場となり地元仙台市民の今後の国際交流への意識改革、また被災された大勢の方への励ましの機会になったのではと存じます。 最終日にはスタッフの運営(performance)が評価され、国連よりリンケージスタッフ一人一人へ感謝状(Certificate)を頂きました。 今後より一層世界各国と日本が繋がり、連携して防災に取り組んでゆくことができることを祈念いたします。
国連からリンケージスタッフが表彰されました。
UN通訳者からいただいた御礼メッセージ。
2010年に名古屋で開催されたCOP10/MOP5でご一緒したメンバーとの再会を果たしました。
Representatives from more than 186 countries from all over the world gathered for WCDRR (Third UN World Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction) held from 14th to 18th March 2015 at Sendai International Center and the new exhibition hall.
Their Majesties the Emperor and Empress of Japan, and Prime Minister Shinzo Abe graced the occasion along with delegates from all over the world, and the opening ceremony of the conference was held on 14th March.
More than a hundred and forty thousand people in total visited Sendai city in order to participate in this conference and more than 350 side events such as a Public Forum and Symposium were held at the various venues in Sendai city. It was almost as though the cold Tohoku winter wind was blown away by the heated atmosphere in the city.
As parts of Tohoku are still recovering from the pain of the disaster that happened on 3.11.2011, and also as a growing International Convention City in Japan, this conference is a starting place for future change. It was our honor that 42 conference translators and 220 operation staff could be part of this conference. The conference has also provided a good opportunity for the citizens of Sendai to welcome and to share their time with the participants from overseas. This experience will surely be a memorable moment and an encouragement for those who were affected by the disaster. On the final day of the conference, each one of our staff received certificates from the UN in recognition of their good management and support for this conference.
We hope that Japan will continue to build good relationships with the rest of the world to prevent and to prepare for any future disasters.
(Tohoku,NI)
A Happy Reunion with UN Interpreters at the UN WCDRR in Sendai!
Do you know how many languages are spoken at the United Nations?
Although the UN is made up of 193 member nations and they speak multiple languages, the UN official languages are only six: Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian, and Spanish.
Since the 3rd World Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction was taken place in Sendai from March 14 to 18, 2015, we set up seven interpretation booths for the UN and Japanese interpreters at each meeting rooms. When we distributed the updated documents to each booth, we incidentally spotted familiar faces and realized that some of them were the same members at the COP10/MOP5 in Aichi-Nagoya in 2010. How wonderful reunion!
Even though we had not seen each other in 5 years, there had been unfailing friendship between us. After the closing ceremony, they gave us a message card and we pledged another reunion someday, somewhere, and somehow.
(Tokyo, KK)