The United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ASCAP)/Asia-Pacific Broadcasting Union (ABU) Roadshow on Emergency Warning Broadcasting Systems (EWBS) Implementation has adopted a draft recommendation on EWBS Implementation, Coordination and Disaster Relief efforts in the Asia-Pacific region. Held for the first time, the two-day workshop ended in Kuala Lumpur on Tuesday.
In his opening address, the Malaysian Deputy Secretary of National Security Council Che Moin bin Umar said the major areas of concern in early warning and disaster relief efforts were at both national and regional levels. Several experts in EWBS made presentations on technology, implementation, coordination and application in disseminating early warning signal to the public through broadcast networks.
There was also a demonstration of such a system operating in the FM radio band using EWBS enabled FM receiver radio sets. The special feature of these radio sets is its ability to switch-on automatically, to deliver the message, and then switch-off to standby mode sensing the EWBS coded signal.
Co-hosted by the ABU and Malaysia’s National Security Council, the workshop was attended by over 40 professionals representing governmental agencies, departments and broadcasters who are involved in disaster early warning, coordination, management and relief efforts.
The roadshow, which include similar workshops, will continue to travel to another five Asian cities: Bangkok, Phnom Penh, Hanoi, Manila and finally concluding in Beijing on 10 September.
(Source: Asia-Pacific Broadcasting Union)
