Aid and Trade is a leading organization for events and publications in the aid and development sector and Global VSAT Forum is the international non-profit association of the satellite communications industry. The two organizations are hosting a Disaster Preparedness Summit: “Establishing Harmonized Multi-Sector ICT Disaster Preparedness & Development Solutions” bringing together key stakeholders to delve into this pressing issue on the ebb of the most recent global and local events.
“From hurricanes to earthquakes, and from civil wars to terrorist attacks, ICT holds great potential to address disaster-response and development requirements," said Sula Bruce, Project Director for the Aid & International Development Forum (AIDF). "This Summit will provide an important opportunity for all participants to discuss how to unlock that potential."
The Summit will explore two areas:
State of the Art ICT Solutions
The current ICT default for first responders' disaster-preparedness capability is similar among most disaster-preparedness stakeholder groups, having been pre-configured with a range of portable sets that include satellite phones, data terminals, and other tools. These approaches enable first responders to quickly deploy at the disaster site and establish communications back to their respective home organizations, with needs assessments and logistical information.
However, there is little in the way of local communications between those based in the disaster zone. Further, for the most part, disaster-response stakeholders often do not have an ICT approach that addresses the more robust on-the-ground collective solution that can also be transitioned into a medium and longer term infrastructure with scale capabilities — or that can eventually be transitioned into a permanent, locally-operated, commercial enterprise. The Summit will explore the extent to which NGOs, UN aid agencies, the private sector, the military, and other stakeholders are applying complementary approaches that can more effectively satisfy these requirements.
Forging Closer Stakeholder Collaboration
To promote adoption of ICT for disaster preparedness and development, closer coordination is needed amongst relevant stakeholder groups. There is a growing recognition that creating a common communications culture — increasing trust and setting a foundation for collaboration and information sharing — can be achieved without undermining either the neutrality of civilian international organizations, inter-governmental organizations, and NGOs or the need for the military to safeguard operational security information. Many stakeholders agree that the creation of a collaborative information environment can be achieved if multiple stakeholder groups are sensitive to one another’s concerns.
Resources can be more closely coordinated not only for preparedness and first-responder efforts, but also for mid- and long-term reconstruction. These options increasingly include “leave-behind” infrastructure for local partners, whether they be private, governmental, or non-governmental agencies. Depending on local regulations and capability constraints, leave-behind infrastructure can be used to jump-start host-nation ICT infrastructure recovery and reconstruction and provide commercial opportunities to seed economic revitalization through ICT infrastructure development.
Coordination challenges span differences in culture, language, organization, training and education, doctrine, planning and analysis, and communications and information systems. Unfortunately, old business models and restrictive policies continue to be applied to support what have become highly dynamic, collaborative needs and requirements in complex operations. In spite of multiple “lessons learned” reports from past experiences, many of the same issues continue to confound the response community in each deployment. This open-forum dialogue aims to address that challenge.
All delegates will be welcome to participate in the Summit discussions and to identify means by which preparedness and development can be further advanced through closer coordination amongst key stakeholder groups.