If you’re a speaker looking for opportunities related to Business Continuity, check out the Association of Contingency Planners (ACP). They have a speakers bureau, and recently offered the following topics of interest to their members:

• Focus on Business Continuity Standards Recent BCP Regulations, Audit, Governance and Compliance Issues
• Building a Methodology to Support British Standard 25999 and Others
• Continuity Successes and Challenges: How Are We Measuring Up?
• Leveraging Virtualization for Disaster Recovery
• Disaster Preparedness Before-During-After
• Identify and Manage Security Exposures in Your DR Strategies

For more information on the ACP speakers bureau please click here.

The 3rd Annual ACP (Association of Contingency Planners) Liberty Valley Symposium is set for November 13, 2008.

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More than 1,500 emergency managers from the U.S. and around the world will be in Kansas City, Kansas (Overland Park), to attend the International Association of Emergency Managers (IAEM) 56th Annual Conference.

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The ACP (Association of Contingency Planners) Washington, D.C. Chapter’s Sixth Annual Symposium is set for November 17, 2008. The theme is Continuity Successes and Challenges: How Are We Measuring Up? It will be held at George Washington University’s Marvin/Cafritz Conference Center, in Washington, D.C.

The Symposium will provide small business owners, managers and practitioners alike the opportunity to engage with noted speakers presenting innovative tools, strategies, and solutions to successfully implement world-class continuity and emergency management practices. This comprehensive event will bring together public and private sector leaders, business owners, emergency managers, and business continuity planners.

Non-members and members pay only $195. After Oct. 31, only non-members pay full admission of $245. ACP members and government employees pay $195 throughout the duration of the registration period (ends Nov. 14). Registration available at the door for the full fee of $245.

For more details and to register for the event, please click here.

For the ACP DC chapter web site, please click here. To join the chapter, please click here.

The Canadian Centre for Emergency Preparedness (CCEP) is calling for presentations for the 19th World Conference on Disaster Management (WCDM).  The Conference will be held at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre, Toronto, Canada from June 21-24, 2009.

The Conference theme will be A Climate for Change - Communication, Collaboration and Cooperation. A major goal of the 19th WCDM is to offer a program that challenges delegates by examining traditional concepts and methods, and provides:
- New ideas and approaches to problem solving
- Both leading edge and topical presentations
- Opportunities to network with key individuals and organizations

Presentations should fall into one or more of the following categories:
- Real Events/Lessons Learned
- Emerging Trends in Disaster Management
- The Human Element in Disaster Management
- Technical Issues/Threats
- Disaster Management Principles & Practices
- Academic/Research and Development

Presentation abstracts must be submitted by December 5, 2008.  To submit an abstract, click here.

Southern California Prepares for Biggest Earthquake Test

The Great Southern California ShakeOut, scheduled to start November 13, 2008, is a week of special events featuring the largest earthquake drill in U.S. history. The program has been organized to inspire Southern California residents and businesses to prepare for large earthquakes, and to prevent disasters from becoming catastrophes. The recent 5.4 magnitude earthquake reinforced the importance of such a program.

At 10 a.m. on November 13, 2008, millions of southern Californians will “Drop, Cover, and Hold On.” This program is being conducted because a major earthquake is considered likely, and the ShakeOut Drill is an opportunity to practice what to do when it happens. Individuals, families, businesses, schools and organizations will join firefighters, police officers, and other emergency responders (involved in the statewide “Golden Guardian” exercise) in California’s largest-ever earthquake preparedness activity.

ShakeOut is based on a potential 7.8 magnitude earthquake on the southern San Andreas Fault. This type of earthquake occurs in southern California every 150 years on average, and the last was 151 years ago. Dr. Lucy Jones of the U.S. Geological Survey has led a group of over 200 scientists, engineers, and others to study the likely consequences of such an earthquake in great detail.

The ShakeOut Scenario estimates this earthquake will cause some 2,000 deaths, 50,000 injuries, $200 billion in damage and other losses, and severe, long-lasting disruptions.

For some unsettling video of the 1995 Kobe, Japan earthquake, see A Lesson in Recovery.

Data Centers are particularly vulnerable to earthquakes. This guide offers lots of useful recommendations for Data Processing Facility Earthquake Hazard Mitigation.

FEMA Unveils New QuakeSmart Project

The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) recently announced it is partnering with a firm called the Safe America Foundation (Atlanta, GA) to develop a program called QuakeSmart that will work with business leaders and owners to better prepare them for earthquakes.

The goal of QuakeSmart is to build awareness within the business community of the relatively simple things they can do to reduce or mitigate the impact of earthquakes, and to support community preparedness.

The effort will begin with a series of QuakeSmart Community Forums in several cities in the Midwest and on the West Coast. The first four forums will be conducted in Monterey, California; Reno, Nevada; Evansville, Indiana; and Cape Girardeau, Missouri. All four events will be held in September to coincide with National Preparedness Month.

The Business Continuity Institute (BCI) Annual Symposium

will take place on 9th and 10th October 2008 in the English seaside town of Brighton. Through a number of presentations, workshops, debates and networking opportunities, the BCI Symposium will offer insight and knowledge into today’s BCM (business continuity management) drivers. The high standard and variety of papers to be presented will ensure a fresh and innovative approach to the topics that are shaping the world of business continuity.

The BCI Symposium is aimed at those responsible for their company’s business continuity and risk management strategy covering all the technical, managerial and legislative issues including:

• Senior Executives
• Business Continuity Managers
• Governmental Crisis Planners
• Risk Managers
• Operational Manager
• Crisis Communication Professionals

About the BCI

Established in 1994, the BCI enables individual members to obtain guidance and support from fellow business continuity practitioners. In addition, the BCI Partnership was launched in 2007, enabling organizations to work more closely with the Institute to deliver the overall BCI mission of promoting the art and science of business continuity management worldwide.
The wider role of the BCI and the BCI Partnership is to promote the highest standards of professional competence and commercial ethics in the provision and maintenance of business continuity planning and services.