The Northeast Asia Forum orginally began as a disaster management technology and skills export project under a U.S. Department of Commerce Market Development Cooperator Program Grant in 1998 with Hawaii-based partnering organizations to export health care technologies to Asia. In late 1998, the Hawaii partners decided to discontinue their support of the disaster management initiative, at which time the chief investigator of the grant who was the executive director of one of the Hawaii partners, along with the lead Korea specialist on the project left the organizations and began to build the project into a set of offerings to include:

1. Study Missions
2. On-Site Training and Education
3. Information, Research, and Facilitation
4. Regional Programs
• Republic of Korea National Flood Insurance Program
• U.S. - R.O.K. Disaster Management Initiative
• Social, Cultural, and Educational Outreach Programs
• Democratic People's Republic of Korea Flood Mitigation & Humanitarian Assistance Program
• Northeast Asia Regional Disaster Mitigation Workshops

OBJECTIVES

To build networks and cultural understanding between Northeast Asia and U.S. disaster management, humanitarian assistance, and community groups in support of disaster mitigation and capacity-building in the region, utilizing best practices, training and education, cultural events, and study missions.

STRUCTURE

The Forum includes a Programs and Projects arm which is responsible for developing and coordinating all events, projects, and programs of work. The Research and Administration component of the Forum is charged with developing all materials, itinerary, synopses, reports, and operational support for the organization and its clients.

POPULATION SERVED

The primary clients to date have included national government agencies such as the Republic of Korea Ministry of Government Administration & Home Affairs; National Institute for Disaster Management, and Ministry of Health & Welfare; government-supported independent agencies such as the Center of Excellence in Disaster Management & Humanitarian Assistance, and the Federal Emergency Management Agency; academic institutions such as the Institute for Flood Hazards Mitigation, Yonsei University; and private-sector sponsors including Oracle and the Marsh Family of Companies.