Issue link: https://www.e-digitaleditions.com/i/101169
FLASH/FORWARD | by Barbara Harrison | Open Sourcing Disaster Safety Annual conference establishes clearinghouse for sharing resources and information. The Federal Alliance for Safe Homes (FLASH)�� held its Annual Conference on November 1 to 2 in Orlando, FL. The meeting brought together the leading experts in the disaster safety movement to define open sourcing as it applies to the movement. What Is Open Sourcing? Open sourcing is a familiar term to Web developers. It describes the practice where Web code is created and then provided, free of charge, for others to use in the development of Web sites and applications. But what does it mean for the disaster safety movement? At its core, open sourcing is simply the practice of creating resources that are then made freely available to others to use. This is directly transferable to any movement, including the disaster safety movement. Open sourcing will allow members of the disaster safety movement to take advantage of the vast resources developed around the world and apply them locally. Whether it���s a new outreach campaign or groundbreaking research findings, an opensource framework for sharing amplifies the reach of the work done daily to promote stronger, safer homes. The conference ended with a National Hurricane Center Directors Panel moderated by Leslie Chapman-Henderson, FLASH president and CEO. The panel included, from left, former NHC directors Max Mayfield and Bill Reed and current director Rick Knabb. house for sharing resources and information among the disaster safety movement stakeholders. Stay tuned for updates as the Web site debuts in the first quarter of 2013. Expert Sessions NHC Directors Panel Sessions were divided into the strategic areas of Leadership, Education, Partnership and Outreach. A diverse group of subject matter experts led the group in a World Caf�� style discussion. This allowed for an open-ended format leading to constructive discussions around design questions for each session. Session leaders and speakers included: ��� Joseph Tankersley, writer, communication futurist and producer of Immersive Experiences ��� Daniel Stoecker, executive director, National Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster (National VOAD) ��� Alexandra Samuel, director, Social and Interactive Media Centre, Emily Carr University of Art and Design; and co-founder, Social Signal ��� Chris Noble, CEO, Cause Media Group ��� Richard Baraniuk, Victor E. Cameron Professor of Engineering, Rice University The conference concluded with a panel moderated by FLASH President and CEO Leslie Chapman-Henderson. On the panel were National Hurricane Center Director Rick Knabb and former NHC directors Max Mayfield and Bill Read. The panel of experts offered its unique take on the disaster safety movement and how we can work together to promote mitigation. The panel was live-streamed on FLASH���s social media channels and provided real time answers to questions submitted from the viewers. A full report of the findings of the conference can be found on www.flash.org along with video clips of speakers, experts and participants. MitigationMovement.org With the input provided by the conference participants, FLASH is creating a new, online community: MitigationMovement.org. This open source Web community will be a clearing- 24 STORM & SECURITY PROTECTION / IBS PREVIEW 2013 Barbara Harrison, CAE, is project manager for Federal Alliance for Safe Homes, Inc. (FLASH), Tallahassee, FL.