TIEMS

The following TIEMS 2007 events are reported below:

- TIEMS 2007 14th Annual Conference in Trogir, Croatia June 5th - 8th 2007

- TIEMS 2007 Workshop in Beijing, China, 22nd - 24th September 2007

- TIEMS 2007 4th Workshop in Cavtat, Croatia, 29th - 31st October 2007

- TIEMS 2007 10th Workshop in Prague, Czech Republic, 26th - 27th November 2007

TIEMS 14th Annual Conference in Croatia in June 2007

 

   “Disaster Recovery and Relief: Current and Future Approaches”

The TIEMS 14th Annual Conference was held 5th – 8th June 2007 in Trogir, Croatia, under the title „Disaster Recovery and Relief: current and future approaches“ with an exciting Program.

After opening session and welcome speech given by Mr. Ivica Franic, deputy minister of interior of the Republic of Croatia, Mr. Ranko Britvic, RCADR director and Mr. K. Harald  Drager, TIEMS president, the Conference started with its work. Once more, that was a chance to demonstrate the importance of a permanent experience exchange in a field of emergency and disaster management. Over 150 delegates from the whole world gave their contributions and discussed different topics such as:

• Information decision support
• GIS in emergency management
• Terrorism and security
• Critical infrastructures
• Emergencies and the media
• Psychological aspects of disasters
• Health emergencies and response
• Training and education
• Business continuity
• Risk assessment professional practice
• Information and communication technologies
• Enviromental protection / Climate change

During a four day Conference, through plenary and parallel working, delegates tried to reach the specific aims of the Conference: to evaluate recovery and relief strategies,  to address the threats of the modern world and to emphasize their relevance and importance to develop and propagate new methods, scientific research and organizations in order to better understand states of emergency, to encourage cooperation and communication through scientific disciplines and their practice in order to effectivelly deal with the threats before, during and after diastrous events, to evaluate the application of technologies to support knowledge management, logistics, monitoring, notification and decision support.

In the electorial part of the Conference, the TIEMS members re-elected Mr. K. Harald Drager, Norway, for TIEMS president and he is expected to run this office for the next three years.

As well, the Conference gave an opportunity to exhibitors to expose their visions of emergency management, demonstrate their technologies and products and in an exhibitor's plenary session approach their potential users.

Guy Weets, European Commission, with exhibitor Klaus D. Pfeiffer from HYDROMOD

The International Workshop on "Natural Disasters & Emergency Management” was hold in Beijing on September 22-24, 2007, see attached program.

More than 130 experts who came from 22 countries and regions: UN, China, USA, Norway, South Korea, France, Russia, Sweden, Belgium, Croatia, Turkey, Japan, Cuba, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Australia, Nepal, Nigeria, Cameron, UK and Hong Kong presented their new achievements and discussed international natural disasters and unexpected incidents emergency management, risk assessment, early warning and disaster relief.

They exchanged experience on earthquakes, storms, floods and drought and other natural disasters and mitigation measures. Presentations included  the mechanism of natural disasters, natural disasters and risk assessment techniques, natural disaster pre-plans, contingency planning, preparedness and early warning systems. Also early warning systems on natural disaster, information and communication technology (ICT) applications in natural disaster emergency management and emergency decision-making systems was addressed through different case studies.

K. Harald Drager (President of International Emergency Management Society (TIEMS), Norway, said that disaster risk reduction, protection of social, economic and environmental development is the common challenges faced to all countries, and that "the concept of universal disaster reduction and mitigation measures will make the world more safe.” Knowing the experience and expertise in China in handling natural disasters, it is very important that this knowledge is shared with others. TIEMS invites Chinese experts to use TIEMS network for distributing this information, and likewise receive information through TIEMS network from other countries, as well, which is valuable for China in dealing with natural hazards.

Prof. QU Guosheng, (Deputy Director and Chief Engineer of National Earthquake Response Support Service, China Earthquake Administration (NERSS/CEA) and TIEMS Regional Director for Asia) said that this workshop provides a platform for the world wide multi-stakeholders, including scientists, engineers, enterprises and decision makers, and would further strengthen the ability of China and the developing countries which faces major disaster, to exchange the new achievements in natural disasters emergency management.

During the workshop, experts from different countries shared the information and experience in emergency management and rescue operation, and and exchanged how to improve the international and regional scale cooperation among countries in earthquake, flood, drought, typhoon, storm , etc.

This workshop organized by TIEMS, Disaster Mitigation Working Group, InterAcademy Panel (IAP), and China Association for Disaster Prevention (CADP), was hosted by: National Earthquake Response Support Service, China Earthquake Administration ((NERSS/CEA), Institute of Geographical Sciences and Natural Resources Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences ((IGSNRR/CAS). It was sponsored by: China Earthquake Administration (CEA), International Cooperation Bureau, Chinese Academy Of Sciences (CAS), and co-sponsored by Global Alliance for Enhancing Access To & Application of Scientific Data in Developing Countries, Global Alliance for ICT and Development and the United Nations ( Un GAID e-SDDC).

More than 25 websites and media reported this workshop in domestic of China and internationally, such as Xinhua News Agency, CCTV, SOHU, Science Time, Science Daily, Government of People’s Republic of China, et al. The workshop was a great success.

                          GROUP PICTURE AT TIEMS BEIJING WORKSHOP

      "Crisis Management – Lessons Learned and New Challenges"

The International TIEMS Workshop – Croatia 2007, was held from 29th October - 31st October 2007 in Cavtat, Croatia with an exciting Program.

The Workshop was a great meeting point of the delegates from the whole region of the South-Eastern Europe coming from the various governmental and non-governmental organizations involved in crisis management. About fifty delegates from Slovenia, Serbia, Greece, Romania, Italy, Chech Republic, Norway, Macedonia, Kosovo and Croatia, had an excellent opportunity to discuss particular current topics and aspects of crisis management, trying to share their experience and knowledge, improve their own national systems and redefine some of  the crucial approaches in crisis management.

After the opening ceremony and welcome speeches given by the host, Mr. Ranko Britvic, RCADR director, and a significant speech  by Mr. K. Harald  Drager, TIEMS president, regarding PSC Europe Forum – An Important EU Inititative with Global Public Safety Agenda supported by TIEMS, the lectures followed one another and enabled the active participation of all the present. 

The topics of the Workshop included the following issues:

• National Crisis Management systems: particularities, experiences,  improvements, coordination
• South-east Europe – preparedness to crisis situations
• Decision-making process in rapidly emerging crisis
• Coordination in crisis situations of international proportions
• Operative forces and their organizatios
• Critical infrastructures
• Environmental disasters and crisis management
• Water resources management as a cause of crisis
• Climate changes
• Crisis management in cases of chemical-biological-technological accidents
• Humanitarian crises
• Terrorism and security
• De-mining
• Health emergencies and response
• Risk diminution – „good practices“
• The role of press & mass media in crisis situations
• Crisis management in cyberspace
• ICT – Information and Communication Technologies
• Assessment techniques for risk analysis
• Prevention, training and education
• Psychological and social approach in crisis situations
• Case studies and lessons learned

During the Workshop, course of the  delegates underlined the necessity of the permanent regional cooperation and existance of the sustainable international coordination when/if a situation of crisis eventually appear.  Also, they concluded that is necessary to establish a strong and vivid regional network including the organizations, institutions, operative forces and professionals of the crisis management.

 The Opening Ceremony at TIEMS Workshop in Prague in November 2007

Cooperation in Emergency Management

On November 26 and 27, 2007, Crowne Plaza Hotel in Praha – Dejvice hosted the 10th anniversary of the International Conference on the Present and Future of Emergency Management. The conference was held under the auspices of Mr Ivan Langer, Minister of Interior of the Czech Republic; and the core topic of the conference was “How are we able to cooperate in safety assurance and in emergency situations?”

As our need for high-quality information systems is on the permanent increase, the organizers from T-SOFT Company, TIEMS international organization and other partners had set a new goal of the conference: to focus – besides other topics – on the area of the development of systems for the protection of critical infrastructure, systems with extreme requirements for safety and reliability not only for emergency management but also systems employed in emergency situations in the area of e.g. healthcare, banking, power engineering, transportation etc.

Multinational Cooperation in the Area of Preparation for Emergencies

Many conference papers focused on international activities leading to the achievement of the world’s safety, for example the international appeal for the preparation for emergencies by United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) in Geneva, activities and events of the International Emergency Management Society (TIEMS), International Strategy for Disaster Reduction (ISDR) and Central European Disaster Prevention Forum (CEUDIP).

Around 300 participants from 12 countries attended this important event.

Listening Participants at TIEMS Prague Event in November 2007