Accessible Emergency Communication Conference materials now available online

Editor: Emergency Planning has become an important topic for people with hearing loss, as evidenced by the national conference held in November 2005. The materials from that conference are now available online. Here's more!

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Conference tackled emergency communication and notification issues for people with disabilities

Information presented in a Nov. 2005 telecommunications conference can now be accessed online.

In November, government, consumer and industry experts convened at Gallaudet University for the "Accessible Emergency Notification and Communication: State of the Science Conference." This conference brought together experts in emergency communications, telecommunications, mass media, and accessibility to share information, develop new partnerships, and create a literature that can serve as a template for improvements in the accessibility of notification and communications during emergencies and recovery.

The conference was sponsored by the Rehabilitation Engineering Research Center (RERC) on Telecommunications Access.

Presentations covered topics including government efforts in accessible communications; Radio Broadcast Data, television captioning and description, NOAA Weather Radio update, Emergency Alert System update, and 9-1-1 Access during technological change.

The site features:
· Text of speakers' remarks or summaries (22 speakers)
· PowerPoint slides from presentations (18 speakers)
· Speaker Bios
· Links to Exhibitors
· Link to Video Archive
· Resources page linking to other reports and organizations doing related work

Access the information, by visiting http://tap.gallaudet.edu/EmergencyCommConf.htm.

For additional information, contact EmergencyConf@tap.gallaudet.edu.