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Session on Conducting National Level Emergency Communications Drills and Exercises: Guidelines for Small Island Developing States (SIDs) and Least Developed Countries (LDCs)

​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​Time and place: Monday, 7 October 2019, 09:30 – 15:45 (Room K)​​

This session on Conducting National Level Emergency Communications Drills and Exercises: Guidelines for Small Island Developing States (SIDs) and Least Developed Countries (LDCs) took​​ place at ITU Headquarters (ITU Montbrillant building, Room K) in Geneva, Switzerland on Monday, 7 October 2019, from 09:30 to 15:45 followed by the ITU-D Study Group 2 Question 5/2 meeting dedicated to “Utilizing telecommunications/ICTs for disaster risk reduction and management​”.

Photos from the session can be found here​
(Contact devSG@itu.int​ for any question)

Background information

A majority of ITU Member States understand that Information and Communications Technologies (ICTs) play a critical role in all phases of disasters, and understand the importance of preparing National Emergency Telecommunications Plans (NETPs). However, the concept of conducting drills and exercises to test and update plans and policies may be daunting. There is a need for guidance that is adaptable/scalable for developing countries, and in particular, to the unique needs of Small Island Developing States (SIDS) and Least Developed Countries (LDCs). Without a means to test national communications readiness, plans remain theoretical and might not be suitable in a disaster.​

Goals:
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Return to the main meeting page

[09:30 – 09:35] Workshop Opening


[09:35 – 09:45] Setting the stage: The priority and Importance of Drills and Exercises to National Emergency Communications Planning

Ms Doreen Bogdan-Martin, Director, Telecommunication Development Bureau (BDT), International Telecommunication Union

[09:45 – 10:45] Session 1: Experiences of planning disaster drills for Small Island Developing States and Lesser Developed Countries:

Session discussion topics - getting started and planning for success:
Moderator: Mr Joseph Burton, Co-Rapporteur for Question 5/2, Cyber and International Communications and Information Policy (CIP), United States of America

​Speakers: [10:45 – ​11:00] Coffee/Tea Break

[11:00 – 12:30] Session 2 - Conducting Drills: a guided discussion with panellists and participants

Session discussion topics: 
 Coordination:
Conducting the drill/exercise: 
​Moderator: Mr Joseph Burton, Co-Rapporteur for Question 5/2, Cyber and International Communications and Information Policy (CIP), United States of America

​Speakers:
[12:30 - 14:30] Lunch Break

[14:30 - 15:45] Session 3 - The wrap up: Capturing and Turning Lessons Learned into Action

Session discussion topics:
After actions and lessons learned:
Moderator: Mr Joseph Burton, Co-Rapporteur for Question 5/2, Cyber and International Communications and Information Policy (CIP), United States of America

​Speakers:​

​Debrief, takeaways and conclusions

Useful references

​​Return to the m​ain ITU-D Study Group 2 page​​