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International Disaster Conference & EXPO
Re-Launches as RES/CON NEW ORLEANS

Conference to be held March 1 – 3, 2016 at the New Orleans Ernest N. Morial Convention Center

The International Disaster Conference & EXPO (IDCE), which debuted in 2012 as the premier event for global disaster management professionals to discuss policy and best practices in preparing for and managing catastrophic events, will re-launch as RES/CON NEW ORLEANS.

RES/CON NEW ORLEANS, which denotes “Resiliency Conference,” has been reformatted to become the premier international conference on the practice of successful resiliency and disaster management in an evolving global environment. The event will highlight innovation as a tool of resilience, while integrating technology into the conference to create a more engaging and valuable experience.

The transition of this event into a broader resiliency event was catalyzed by Greater New Orleans, Inc., who will produce RES/CON NEW ORLEANS alongside the New Orleans Ernest N. Morial Convention Center, the prior host of IDEC. In its first year, conference goals will be to:

  • Facilitate thought leadership and innovation spanning multiple sectors (government, private sector, NGO, education, and more) across the globe
  • Promote public/private collaboration for addressing disaster and resiliency challenges at a local, state, national or international level
  • Learn from the experience of New Orleans and Louisiana as a global hub of resiliency and a learning laboratory for the world

“Over the past decade, Southeast Louisiana has become a de facto global hub for resilience innovation,” said Michael Hecht, President and CEO of Greater New Orleans, Inc. “Now with RES/CON, this position as global resiliency leader will be formalized and further grown.  RES/CON will provide an unmatched platform for international experts to share new ideas, demonstrate best practices, collaborate on new projects, and generally educate each other on building stronger communities that can withstand and rebound from major natural and man-made challenges.”

RES/CON NEW ORLEANS 2016 will be held March 1 – 3, 2016, at the New Orleans Ernest N. Morial Convention Center. The conference builds on four years of the International Disaster Conference and Expo which, in 2015, boasted three days of education, exhibition, networking and information; over 120 exhibit booths; over 800 attendees from around the world, with an emphasis on U.S. federal, state and local government participation; and targeted programming on disaster and emergency operations and policy.

RES/CON NEW ORLEANS 2016 attendees will represent the multiple sectors involved with resilience and disaster management:

  • Practitioners, including government agency staff, consultants, NGOs;
  • Private industry, including firms of all sizes that hold or hope to hold disaster and resilience contracts for emergency response, recovery, rebuilding, water management, coastal restoration;
  • Policymakers, including agency leads, elected officials;
  • Trade associations, coalitions, advocates;
  • Educational institutions and students;
  • Public and private sector resiliency officers.

There is no other conference that brings together such diversity of attendees, in such a contextually appropriate and compelling setting.

“RES/CON will provide a forum for emergency management and homeland security professionals to be better prepared for and respond to emergencies of all kinds,” said Pat Santos, RES/CON Business Development Advisor.  “We look forward to bringing these different groups together, both public and private and providing the opportunity for them to learn from and support each other.”

In anticipation of this year’s event, RES/CON invites readers to participate in a brief survey that will help the organizers create programming and a schedule that will meet the expectations of its attendees. Readers can help RES/CON plan the conference by sharing thoughts here: http://svy.mk/1Mi4kE7.