USQ helps stage Emergency Media Conference

70 disaster communicators from across Australia will be in Brisbane next week for the worlds first Emergency Media and Public Affairs Conference, organised by USQ.

Run in conjunction with Queensland's Department of Emergency Services and the Australian Government's Emergency Management Australia, the Conference will look at ways to improve media responses to emergencies and disasters.

'Disaster communicators are media liaison officers who deal mostly with natural disasters and also things like outbreaks of bird flu and emergencies such as rail crashes or major oil spills,' USQ public relations lecturer and Conference co-chair Barbara Ryan said.

'What we want to do at the Conference is to get them networking and looking at best practice so that everyone is aware of the pitfalls and how important public information is now.'

With disasters such as Cyclone Larry in Australia and Hurricane Katrina in the United States hitting home the necessity of a coordinated approach, Mrs Ryan said that the Conference was vital.

'The disaster communicators will be sharing case studies and hearing amazing stories of what has gone wrong and things that can be improved,' she said.

'From every debrief that happens after a disaster there is some learning that comes out of it.'

The Conference also aims to support Australia's record of close working relationships between agencies.

'This is really important, because for example, with Hurricane Katrina, we saw first hand what happens when people don't share information.

'In between states it is harder to communicate and share information and that is something that we want to improve.'

Several guest speakers will also address the Conference, including Emergency Management Australia Director General Tony Pearce and Chadd McLiskey, who handled disaster communication for the Indonesian Government.

'Mr McLiskey handled disaster communication for the Sumatra tsunami, for both Bali bombings and for the Jakarta Embassy bombing,' Mrs Ryan said.

What: Emergency Media and Public Affairs Conference
Where: Rydges Hotel, South Bank Brisbane
When: Wednesday 9 – Friday 11 May, 2007

Media are particularly welcome to attend the Conference opening and address by Mr Pearce from 9:15am - 10:15am on Wednesday 9 May 2007.

Media Contact: Josh Ada, +61 7 4631 1628