2014-2015 Competition
The goals of 2014-2015 competition was to generate innovative ideas towards developing an effective and affordable community emergency education and awareness initiative. The initiative may come in the form of public education plans, posters, innovative tools, mobile applications, educational games, or other innovative concepts participants may have.
The first competition invited participants to:
- Explore the current gaps and challenges that exist in public emergency preparedness education and awareness in various contexts.
- Consider how existing knowledge, technologies, and experiences may be used to develop innovative public emergency preparedness education and awareness initiatives that tackle existing issues.
- Select a specific municipality, ministry, NGO or private sector organization and develop an effective public education and awareness initiative. To be deemed effective the solution should reach the entire population or a targeted audience within the greater entity.
- Apply a reasonable and affordable budget to the initiative. An affordable solution must be implemented with a maximum budget of $3000. The budget should account for hidden costs such as salary, benefits, and overhead, along with the actual material costs.
- Entries should adhere to the AODA standards for emergency communications (http://www.aoda.ca/integrated/).
- Students should consult directly with their chosen entity to determine what is needed. The entity may provide feedback on whether or not the initiative and materials chosen could be effectively implemented.
Collaborators
- City of Vaughan (contact person: Sharon Walker, ABCP, CMM III-EMP, Manager, Emergency Planning, Vaughan Fire and Rescue Service).
- East Gwillimbury (contact person: Phil Dawson)
- City of Markham (contact person-Sonia Singh)
- City of Toronto (contact person: Laura Richards)
2014-2015 Competition results
Sarah Thompson, a graduate student in York University's Disaster and Emergency Management Program won the first competition. She will present her project during the Third UN Conference in Sendai (March 14-March18, 2015).
Sarah Thompson (winner of the first Disaster & Emergency Management Competition. )
Here is the abstract of her proposed local public education plan.
Abstract
The idea for the Community Emergency Management Alliance (CEMA) stemmed from a recognition of the need for enhanced community engagement in education and awareness initiatives, despite the small team of staff within the Emergency Management Office at the City of Vaughan.
The city of Vaughan has identified a number of ‘Community Services’ sections within its existing emergency response plan, mostly focused on response. It therefore became apparent that the opportunity exists to better address these services in mitigation and preparedness phases of emergency management planning, and to do so primarily through enhancing the education and awareness models they currently use.
The primary method for enhancing engagement was based the recognition of the very distinct ethnic, religious and other community groups within the City of Vaughan, and the challenges in gaining the involvement of those groups in disaster management initiatives.
Community Emergency Management Alliance (CEMA) is a community-focused education initiative run by the municipal Community Emergency Management Co-ordinator. It primarily takes the form of a committee of community stakeholders and leaders with an interest in Emergency Management, and is a forum for discussion and development of community initiatives related to Emergency Management. The community stakeholders are existing identifiable leaders within the community, who are invited to become ‘champions’ of disaster management within the forum, and additionally act as an important facilitator of information exchange between the community and the municipal EM leadership.
The City of Vaughan should tailor meetings of the CEMA group to answer specific questions or targets (e.g. business preparedness) surrounding emergency management which are relevant to the municipality. By tailoring and focusing meetings on specific pieces of emergency education and awareness, as well as scenarios designed to increase the community preparedness and response capacity, Vaughan could maximise the exposure to the diverse and extensive knowledge and experience of its community members.
