Research Center for Urban Safety and Security (RCUSS) of Kobe University and Tsinghua University will hold a seminar on the restoration of mountainous city from Wenchuan Earthquake, Sichuan on September 14 and 15. The workshop will be held jointly by Kobe University and the Urban Planning & Design Institute of Tsinghua University at the Beichuan Institute of Restoration, Disaster Prevention and Security on September 14, its opening day.

This seminar will be held partly to support the academic activities of Urban Planning & Design Institute of Tsinghua University, as the two have entered into academic exchange agreement. It is also held partly as a project by RCUSS under the Special Education & Research Funds & Cooperation Program by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT) titled “Building an International Education and Supporting System for Urban Disaster Risk Reduction”, implemented for in 2009 until 2011.

Beichuan Institute of Restoration, Disaster Prevention and Security is located in the new Beichuan County, about 35km southeast from the former Beichuan County which was seriously stricken by the earthquake. It is built to act as the circulation and administrative center for the mountainous region. The topics of the seminar include restoration of the cities in Beichuan disaster areas, reconstruction in collaboration with the universities and roles of the universities (joint research topic).

From Japan, related organizations for emergency restoration and disaster prevention from Kobe University, Hyogo Prefecture, Kobe City (Kobe Institute of Urban Research), Asian Disaster Reduction Center, and JICA China Office will be attending the seminar. On the Chinese side, organizations from Tsinghua University, Sichuan Provincial People's Government, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Sichuan University and related NGOs will be there.