Background of The Second Annual Forum on Public Safety 2006

The Second Annual Forum on Public Safety, chaired by Declan J. Ganley, Chairman and CEO, Rivada Networks, was convened on the 2nd of August, 2006 at the University of Limerick, Ireland. This Forum, like the first Forum in August 2005, brought together policymakers, political and military leaders, police, fire and other emergency / security leaders, and business people and scholars from Europe and North America to discuss policy, implementation and communications challenges for improving awareness, prevention, protection, response and recovery measures in connection with natural and/or manmade emergency situations.

The Forum consisted of speeches given by experts within public safety, and work panels in which Forum participants discussed important public safety matters, such as crisis management, interoperability and border security.

Speeches were given at the morning and afternoon plenary sessions of the Forum by leaders such as Minister Michael McDowell, Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform for Ireland; Admiral Timothy J. Keating, USN Commander, NORAD and US Northern Command; and Rear Admiral Robert F. Duncan (Ret.), Former Commander of the US Eighth Coast Guard District. Mr. Scott Rowell, Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense Strategy, Plans & Resources, US Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense, Homeland Defense, also delivered a dinner address to the Forum participants at a pre-Forum dinner on the evening of the 1st of August, 2006.

The Forum attendees discussed various public safety matters in the following eight work panels:

Group 1: Emergency Cooperation between the Civil and Military Power: Where can we improve current best practices?

Group 2: Policymakers and Legislators: What are we doing to improve public safety in Europe and North America?

Group 3: Crisis Management: What are the best practices for managing a crisis, whether manmade or act of God?

Group 4: Exercise Planning: What lessons have we learned from events and exercises to date and how can we apply these lessons to improve public safety?

Group 5: Resources: What resources can we leverage for improving protection, response and recovery measures in connection with natural and/or manmade emergencies?

Group 6: Global Supply Chain Security: How do we ensure secure and efficient passage of goods and services across the globe, at ports and through other channels?

Group 7: Improving Interoperability in Europe and North America, and between Europe and North America: What are the obstacles for establishing real-time communications interoperability and how can we overcome them?

Group 8: Borders: How is border security integral to public safety and what can we do to improve border security?

The detailed findings and reccommendations were compiled, published and distributed to nominated governments and legislatures, but are not published publicly, please contact us for more information if required.