Workshop on Promoting Multilingual Alerting

Agenda

9:00 am Welcome Zenji Nakazawa, Public Safety and Consumer Protection Advisor to Chairman Pai

9:15 am Panel 1: Regulatory Framework for Multilingual Alert Distribution Over the EAS and WEA Systems

The panelists will describe how the EAS and WEA rules support multilingual alerting, including both legacy (over-the-air) EAS alerts and those originating in the Common Alerting Protocol (CAP) format for distribution through FEMA’s Integrated Public Alert and Warning System (IPAWS). Following these presentations, the panelists will take questions from the audience. Moderator: David Munson, Attorney Advisor, PSHSB

Participants

• Orlando Bermudez, Multimedia Assistance in Spanish (MAS) Program, Austin/San Antonio Weather Office, NOAA
• Justin Cain, Deputy Chief, Operations and Emergency Management Division, PSHSB
• Gregory Cooke, Chief, Office of Intergovernmental Affairs, CGB
• Matthew Gerst, Vice President, Regulatory Affairs, CTIA
• Al Kenyon, IPAWS Customer Support Branch Chief, IPAWS Program Office, Continuity Communications Division DHS – FEMA
• Andy Scott, Vice President, Engineering, NCTA - The Internet & Television Association
• Larry Walke, Associate General Counsel, National Association of Broadcasters

10:00 am Break

10:15 am Panel 2: Examples of How Various State and Local Jurisdictions Provide Multilingual Alerting

This panel will present examples of how state and local jurisdictions have implemented multilingual alerting and offer best practices for other jurisdictions. The discussion will also cover multilingual communications practices to supplement the EAS and WEA, such as leveraging the Internet, email, and social networking to deliver alert messages. In addition, the discussion will cover alternatives to the EAS and WEA for delivering emergency information to the non-English speaking public. Following these presentations, the panelists will take questions from the audience.

Moderators: Gregory Cooke, Chief, Office of Intergovernmental Affairs, CGB David Munson, Attorney Advisor, PSHSB

Participants

• John Dooley, MN – Department of Public Safety
• Fred Engel, Chief Technology Officer, UNC-TV
• Andy Huckaba, Councilmember Lenexa, Kansas
• Jesus Salas, Executive Vice President of Programming, Spanish Broadcasting System, Inc., Miami
• Francisco Sanchez, Deputy Emergency Management Coordinator, Harris County, Texas
• Aaron Wilborn, Dick Broadcasting Company, Marketing Manager, Savannah, Bluffton, Hilton Head, Beaufort
• Adam Woodlief, Chief Technology Officer, Georgia Public Broadcasting

11:45 am Lunch

1:00 pm Panel 3: Current Capabilities in EAS and WEA Equipment, and Complementary Technologies for Sending Multilingual Alerts

The panelists will describe the capabilities of current technologies to facilitate multilingual alerting within the EAS and WEA architectures, and experiences in integrating multilingual alerting capabilities in large-area alerting systems. Following these presentations, the panelists will take questions from the audience.

Moderators: David Munson, Attorney Advisor, PSHSB Gregory Cooke, Chief, Office of Intergovernmental Affairs, CGB

Participants

• Edward Czarnecki PhD, Senior Director – Strategy and Government Affairs, Digital Alert Systems, Inc.
• Brian J. Toolan, Director of Government Strategy, Everbridge
• Bryan Daly, Assistant Vice President Standards & Industry Alliances, AT&T
• Ashruf El-Dinary, Vice President, Radio Technology Solutions, Xperi Corporation
• Pat Feldhausen, Offering Manager, The Weather Company an IBM Business)
• Harold Price, President, Sage Alerting Systems

2:30 pm Closing