Knowledge Reaches Disaster Preparedness
Knowledge Reaches Disaster Preparedness
June 21, 2007: International satellite communications for disaster avoidance and relief will be established after a joint agreement this week between the ICO Global Communications and the Commonwealth Business Council and the ‘democratisation of knowledge.’
According to the International Telecommunications Union (ITU), in 2006 alone 21,800 people succumbed to natural disasters while millions of homes and businesses were lost.
Under the agreement, ICO Global Communications will provide airtime on their F2 satellite for disaster prevention and effective response through both communications and other telecommunication applications. The ITU will be granted an hour’s airtime to assist countries in maintain their preparedness and early-warning information for effective response.
Dr Harmadoun Toure, Secretary-general of ITU says satellite communication will provide a wider information platform to delivery services and applications, even to remote areas. “In the digital age,” he says. “We are able to provide an ICT lifeline to disaster victims and humanitarian personnel entrusted with coordinating rescue and relief operations, especially where terrestrial communications infrastructure is disrupted, overloaded or destroyed.”
While the ITU maintain the emergency telecommunications, the Commonwealth Business Council (CBC) has agreed to provide the content and manage a related entrepreneurial development programme.
Dr Mohan Kaul, Director General of the CBC says through technology and innovation, increased economic empowerment can reach wider segments of society. “We need to pursue the ‘democratization of knowledge’ by making technology more widely and freely accessible,” he says. “By means of tele-education and entrepreneurial development programmes, CBC will equip and prepare global citizens for economic empowerment and disaster management.”