LYNDONVILLE, N.Y. � Ed Czarnecki, Digital Alert Systems�s senior director for strategy and global government solutions, will participate in the NAB Show panel on multilingual emergency alerting.
�Reaching New Audiences: Meeting Multilingual Challenges for EAS/Public Warning,� will be held at 4 p.m., Monday, April 13, in room S219 of the Las Vegas Convention Center. The panel will include representatives from the project stakeholders from a multilingual alerting project in Minnesota, including Digital Alert Systems, Twin Cities Public Television, ECHO Minnesota and the Minnesota Association of Broadcasters.
Drawing directly from the Minnesota project, the panel will review findings and best practices with the potential to impact broadcasters, emergency managers and technology partners. This project involved the development and implementation of a system compatible with both FEMA’s IPAWS and the Emergency Alert System in order to serve Minnesota’s Spanish-speaking residents, as well as the state�s Hmong and Somali communities, which have never before received emergency information in their languages. The project was undertaken in collaboration with the Minnesota Department of Homeland Security, as well as the state�s IPAWS committee.
“The FCC has formally raised the question of what can be done to support multilingual and more accessible emergency alerting by broadcasters and wireless providers,” said Czarnecki. “Exactly one year after the FCC issued a request for comments on multilingual alerting, this session will offer a valuable look at the current status and future prospects for multilingual alerting. I look forward to joining other experts in reviewing new approaches to emergency alerting, as well as examining the capabilities available to broadcasters that wish to support and implement multilingual alerting in their own operations.”
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