Why do people attend?

Below IDER 2006 delegates tell us why they attended the conference in Rome.

The presentations were topical and insightful.  It was also a great opportunity to meet so many experts in the field of emergency and disaster management; I am sure our students will benefit enormously from the extra understanding we both gained.  Please pass on our thanks to the staff at IDER and the Italian Fire College who were very friendly and welcoming.

* Emphasizing the need to strengthen preventative work and to develop cross-sectoral  cooperation in the emergency and preparedness planning.
* To achieve results evidence-based policies are needed in the area of emergency and preparedness planning. Evidence-based policies have to based on all aspects and knowledge in the society without barriers between sectors.
* A systematic model concerning preparedness planning against pandemic flu was very interesting and has been very useful for me when I have participated in pandemic preparedness planning in my home country.

I personally found the event in 2006 a very informative experience. The presentations were varied and covered a wide spectrum of the disaster response arena. The session on inter-agency working and co-operation at incidents was of particular interest as were the items on response to major flooding events. The opportunity to network with individuals from different organisations operating in the same field of work proved both interesting and beneficial.  The venue was particularly good providing an ideal location for the conference.

The reason I enjoyed the 2006 IDER conference so much was because it was the first time I have had the opportunity to meet with a group of emergency management/responders to discuss the same issues that we each battle every day.  Whether it is communications during an emergency or the act of response, we all have the same issue that we must over come to be effective.  I truly enjoyed the conference and plan on attendance at the 2007 IDER.

IDER 2006 was my first conference outside the US; with years of experience in emergency management field in the US it was an educational trip to take. The amount of knowledge the speakers brought from a large variety of international disaster. Gave me a great opportunity to compare and contrast the issues that Europe and Asia are experiencing with what I see here in the US. For example here in the US the responses by the military are no problem from a territorial standpoint. And never did it occur to me the territorial problem that appears when neighboring country's military is responding to a wide spread international disaster. 
This conference is definitely worth your time.

I attended the IDER conference for the first time in 2006. Rome is a beautiful city and the venue, the National Fire Service College, was excellent with perfect facilities and wonderful hosts. I wasn’t sure what to expect but, although I have my own thoughts on integrated emergency management and crisis management, was struck by the wealth of experience demonstrated by not only the speakers but also the international delegates.
The key messages for me were partnership, communication and, interestingly, personal responsibility.
I will be at the IDER 2007 Conference in London, with the hope of renewing some acquaintances and discussing recent events.