Natural disasters could occur anywhere at any time, causing tremendous damage. Humans all around the world are faced with the question of what should be done to achieve a safer society that is better prepared against disaster. The Disaster Reduction and Human Renovation Institution (DRI) is one of the organizations that are working to answer that question. DRI, established in April 2002 by the Hyogo Prefectural government with the support of the national government, is operated by the Hyogo Earthquake Memorial 21st Century Research Institute. To hand down the experience of the Great Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake to younger generations and best use the lessons learned from the Earthquake in future disaster management initiatives, DRI is committed to fulfilling its missions to create a disaster management culture, improve local capacities for disaster risk reduction, support planning of disaster management policies and help realize a safe and secure community in which citizens work together for disaster risk reduction. To those ends, DRI will send messages regarding the necessity of social preparedness against disasters, importance of life and significance of harmonious cooperation to the rest of the world and future generations. DRI also aims to play a pivotal role in developing and disseminating effective and overall countermeasures against disaster, and to serve as a global center for research and study of disaster risk management.