Technology and Human Knowledge Steer Crisis to Opportunity: Post-Discussion Takeaways from Hasekura 2.0

Innova Institute has participated in Hasekura 2.0: Technology in the Service of Society hosted by the Barcelona Chamber of Commerce on 21 November 2013. The program brought together SMEs, Social Entrepreneurs, Private and Public Institutions, and distinguished members of the academe across Japan and Spain to exchange ideas on how to steer crisis into opportunity following the Tsunami that hit Japan in 2011.

Following are key takeaways from the discussion:

1. “The Hasekura Program takes its name from the samurai Hasekura Tsunenaga who led the first Japanese mission to Spain in 1613”. Renata Piazza, founder and director of Hasekura organization explained that the bilateral relations of Japan and Spain dates back to 400 years, and that the program seeks to actively engage key players between the two countries to exchange ideas and share opportunities that support development. With the crisis that hit japan in 2011, Hasekura sought to foster discussions on how to turn the crisis into an opportunity – widely acknowledging that crisis provides an opportunity to rethink reconstruction in a way that favourably benefits sustainable lifestyle. As a result, there are four missions deployed where discussions are centred on the following themes: responsible tourism, smart communities, gastronomy, and design and the arts.
2.  “One of the social issues facing Tohoku after the crisis is a massive loss of innovation and active industry due to mass urban mitigation”. Hiroki Iwasa, CEO and founder of the General Reconstruction Association (GRA), set up the company in his hometown of Yamamoto after the crisis, seeking to rebuild the industry and source of livelihood in the area. Of the many activities of GRA, one of the most innovative initiatives is the way in which he sought to revolutionize the farming system, taking lead from how they used technology to revitalize strawberry farming in the area, which is said to be a special industry in Yamamoto. Acknowledging that industries must be developed based on the strengths of the area, his company spearheaded an automated farming system in an attempt to make farming more appealing to the young people, which will eventually lead to a multiplier effect of employment.
3. “With the way that technology works, the formula to manufacturing can be altered: people + information + computation = production. You do not need to buy things, you can go out, seek ideas, and build your own product”. Guillem Camprodon shared the vision of Fab Lab, illustrating how innovation can start from the grassroots and create opportunities for society. With presence around the world, Fab Lab was initiated to explore how community information can be translated into a concrete physical product using technology at the grassroots level. Relating it to the experience of crisis-struck areas, where availability of equipment that are used in day-to-day lives of victims is scarce, Fab Lab looks for innovative ways to transform information into a concrete equipment that is readily functional. Crowd-sourced engineering comes to mind – information is gathered from the grassroots, the product is built by the people of Fab Lab.
4. “After the crisis, discussions among key players in Japan were heavily directed to the restoration of normal lifestyle among the victims. The damages to the equipment supporting daily lives were immense and we depended heavily on energy. And many changes are currently being made to keep people safe and alive during disaster, and to realize an environment that is life sustaining, sanitary, safe, and comfortable”. Prof. Dr. Yasuo Utsumi of the Sendai National University presented Japan’s initiatives for crisis recovery and preparedness after the tsunami in 2011. Coming from the field of architecture science, Prof. Dr. Utsumi remarked that among the things that had to change post-tsunami were the building codes of Tohoku, in order to adapt to the change in living space due to elapsed time and the effects of the tsunami. Moreover, they sought the creation of smart houses in order to keep people safe and alive. He also mentioned that a key challenge of Japan is its dependence on energy, which is barely available during crisis. Thus, exploring energy storage and alternative sources of energy is a crucial future direction for research and implementation in the country.
5. “Given the pace of technology and the changes they pose in the environment, we need systematic and radical changes in the way we manage crisis”. Prof. Dr. Frances Miralles of the Innova Institute – La Salle Business Engineering School (BES) of University Ramon Llull presented the research agenda of the Institute on crisis management, which it is undertaking under the framework of the Marie Curie Program of the European Commission alongside a network of universities across the European Union. Specifically, the EU-wide project is looking at the perspectives of networked and IT enabled firms in crisis management. He mentioned that boundaries among actor relationships are blurring during crisis situations and the general direction of the project is to understand the results that a networked approach is used in crisis management. There are two research projects housed in Innova Institute La Salle BES: the first project looks at the characteristics of network relations among organizations during the transition period between preparedness and response, while the second project looks at the capabilities necessary to enrich social media use during crisis response.

by Bianca Villar

PhD Candidate & Marie Curie Fellow