The first conference on Emergency and Crisis Management

04 March 2008 News

The first conference on Emergency and Crisis Management hosts 20 international experts who will discuss seven key issues related to emergency preparedness and readiness. These issues include counter-terrorism, cybersecurity, technology, communications and media, environmental concerns, industry and development projects, as well as medicine and health. On the first day, the conference at the Abu Dhabi Exhibition Center covered 9 papers, 5 of which were presented in the morning.

Lord West spoke on "Counter-Terrorism and Security in the United Kingdom," emphasizing that today's world relies on "delivering services in a timely manner." Any delay from companies and institutions in delivering products and services can cause widespread problems. West highlighted the impact of terrorist activities on creating issues within the ecosystem, which have recently emerged as critical issues needing immediate attention from security experts.

Richard Clarke, Chairman of Good Harbor Consulting in the United States, presented the second paper titled "12 Lessons in Crisis Management." He stressed the importance of pre-training leaders to handle crisis situations, drawing on his own experience as a consultant at the Pentagon and the U.S. State Department.

Colonel Azhar Al-Kindi from Oman presented a paper titled "The Omani Experience" on establishing disaster response infrastructure. He highlighted the emergency measures taken by Oman to address Cyclone Gonu before, during, and after the disaster.

The conference will conclude today with a new group of speakers, including Dr. Saleh Mousa Al-Tai, Secretary-General of the Emirates Red Crescent, Admiral Thomas from the United States representing Ericsson, Randa Fouad, Chair of the Arab Media Forum on Communications Development and Crisis Management, and Mark Camillo from the United States.

In the evening sessions, the conference discussed four additional papers. Khalid Al-Harbi, Regional Oil Spill Response Coordinator in the Gulf, presented a paper on Aramco’s efforts to prevent oil spills and develop a response strategy. Biorificacion Morandira, Director of the Spanish Presidential Office, discussed the crisis of prestige and the measures taken by the Spanish government. Craig Buckingham, Head of the Incident Team at the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC), addressed incident management at ADNOC. Lastly, Tariq Ghafour, Assistant Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police in London, presented a paper on achieving better operational resilience in London.