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Tuesday, November 2, 1999



Civil defense forum
to assist South Korea

By Susan Kreifels
Star-Bulletin

Tapa

South Korea will learn how Hawaii manages disasters when more than 40 leaders meet here this month in a forum that is a first of its kind.

The conference will bring together experts in government and private business to discuss ways South Korea can develop a civil defense program.

Local officials hope this will kick off similar forums with other countries. They see Hawaii as the perfect center to develop such programs because they say the islands offer more organizations and services specializing in the area than any other state.

South Korean President Kim Dae Jung appointed a special task force last month that will involve about 20 government ministries. South Korea, often hit by floods and other natural disasters, wants to coordinate government and private agencies and has earmarked more than $100 million to develop a disaster management and prevention program.

"Korea will be a model for many other countries' Civil Defense programs, and an opportunity for our key industry clusters," said Sen. Daniel Inouye, honorary chairman of the U.S.-Korea Conference on Disaster Management.

Those industries include emergency public health and telemedicine, sustainable development, river-basin management, geographic information systems and weather prediction software.

Two Hawaii executives helped spearhead the initiative: Janis Koh, who is serving as the overseas researcher of Korea's National Disaster Center; and Bernice Bowers, vice chair of the Hawaii/Pacific District Export Council.

"Hawaii has the assets, competitive advantage and early market position," Bowers said. "We wanted to make sure that Hawaii didn't drop the ball."

U.S. and Hawaii organizations that will take part include the Center of Excellence in Disaster Management & Humanitarian Assistance; Pacific Basin Economic Council; Federal Emergency Management Agency; IBM Crisis Response Team; Tennessee Valley Authority; U.S. Department of Commerce; Commander in Chief of the Pacific Command; Maui High Performance Computing Center; and the Pacific Disaster Center.

The highlights of the conference will be featured at a reception Nov. 17 at the Hilton Hawaiian Village from 6-9 p.m. For more details, call 536-1539, 521-9044, or e-mail kjhawaii@pixi.com



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