Natural disasters have the power in mere moments, to destroy the livelihood and human societies built over generations. And yet, sad memories engraved on our minds also help us move forward: further understanding the threats of nature, while realizing the preciousness of life and importance of communal living.

In many disaster-struck areas, various initiatives are in place to remember and convey the stories of survival and recovery: oral story-telling, films, artifacts, monuments, etc. The preservation and dissemination of real live stories and lessons from disasters, “Telling Live Lessons”, deepen our understanding of the bonds between ourselves and of the meaning of co-existence with nature; strengthen reconstruction efforts; and generate sense of solidarity. However, networks or systems are still weak to unite those activities and to facilitate mutual learning.

With this in mind, “The International Forum on Telling Live Lessons from Disasters”　was held on March 20th - 22nd, 2010 in Kobe, Japan. The objectives of the forum were to: strengthen network of those committed to Telling Lesson Lessons around the world; widely appeal for the importance of such initiatives; and promote its continual implementation with a view to further strengthening disaster reduction.