UNAIR NEWS – Universitas Airlangga ( UNAIR) student Muhammad Luthfi Lazuardi or Luthfi, has got an opportunity to study natural disaster mitigation in Japan. The History FIB UNAIR student participated in the Dise Young Leaders Japan 2023 program to learn about natural disaster mitigation in Japan.
Dise Young Leaders Japan 2023 is a competition which was themed disaster-resilient Indonesia. The program from the Dise Academy aims to find young Indonesians who can provide education on the importance of mitigating natural disasters.
Luthfi joined the program to learn disaster mitigation in Japan. He has admired Japan, a developed country with high awareness of the natural disaster mitigation system. For this reason, Lutfi wanted to learn more about Japan’s preparations for dealing with natural disasters.
“Various systems and policies that Japan has implemented should be a reflection for Indonesia to prepare for the possibility of future disasters,” explained Lutfi.
There are three branches of competition for program selection: essays, quizzes, and photography. Luthfi took part in a quiz competition with 50 questions about general knowledge and disaster.
“Alhamdulillah, we were selected as one of the partially funded winners from the hundreds of applicants who took part in the selection,” he said.
Experience in Japan
Luthfi gained a lot of experience related to natural disaster mitigation in Japan for five days, from Tuesday to Sunday, July 18-22, 2023. He visited several places in Tokyo related to the history and mitigation of natural disasters, such as the Earthquake Science Museum, the Great Kanto Earthquake Museum, and the Tokyo Rinkai Disaster and Prevention Museum.
Furthermore, the student of History FIB UNAIR also met Prof. Tomoya Shibayama from Waseda University. He is an expert in the field of natural disaster mitigation who often conducts research on disasters, especially the tsunami in Indonesia. With Prof. Shibayama, Luthfi visited the laboratory where teaching and learning activities and research experiments were conducted.
“From him, we got a lot of new knowledge about disaster based on the results of his research with other experts from various countries, including Indonesia,” Luthfi added.
Challenges and hopes
During his stay in Japan, Lutfi had a few problems when communicating with Japanese people. Not many Japanese understand English. “Not many Japanese people understand and speak English, so it is quite a challenge when having a conversation with them,” added Luthfi.
Even though he found it challenging to communicate with Japanese people, Luthfi’s hopes did not fade. He wants to become a young generation who is able to educate the environment around him, especially his peers, to be aware of the dangers of natural disasters.
“I also want to give an example of how to prepare important things needed in a condition of natural disasters so that they remain safe,” said Luthfi.
Tips for joining Dise Young Leaders Japan 2023
Luthfi suggested that friends who want to participate can monitor Dise Academy’s Instagram account because the program will be held again for the second batch. He also suggested that students should not feel inferior when they have less knowledge about natural disasters. “The key is to be brave and committed to follow the process,” he concluded. (*)
Author: Muhammad Fachrizal Hamdani
Editor: Binti Q. Masruroh
