Next Generation Emergency Messaging Santa Barbara Round Tables

On March 9-10 of 2022, the AWARN Alliance will join with KEYT-TV and the Offices of Emergency Management for Santa Barbara County and the City of Riverside to host the first of a series of roundtable discussions about the development of Next Generation Emergency Messaging (NGEM). Leveraging the advanced alerting capabilities of a powerful new broadcast technology, ATSC 3.0/NextGen TV will be an important piece of a broader discussion of interoperable technologies.

The meeting, with invitees from across Southern California, will take place in-person at KEYT’s beautiful hilltop event space in Santa Barbara, starting by 1 pm March 9 and concluding by 3 pm March 10. This is an opportunity to join with other disaster information stakeholders in a relaxed, informal setting to discuss the future of public warning.

Activities will include a station tour of KEYT, known for its unparalleled disaster coverage in the region, as well as level-setting briefings and networking events ahead of a series of closed-door roundtable meetings. Discussions will center on building out a voluntary, all-digital, and interoperable ‘network of networks’ to improve our response to many types of emergencies, including wildfires. Although the use of NextGen TV and ‘Broadcast Internet’ in a converged system will be covered, technology is not our focus. Instead, we will concentrate on the institutional and human interactions needed to leverage new technology solutions.

You can download a more detailed preliminary agenda here. Information regarding virtual participation will be available soon.

Objectives for the Santa Barbara Roundtable and beyond

• Review the state of alerting and EM-TV newsroom relationships in CA today
• Identify best ways for alert originators, broadcasters, and other emergency information distributors to use NextGen TV directly and in a voluntary, interoperable ‘network of networks’
• Identify relationships that need to be built or strengthened between alerting stakeholders
• Help create a model for NGEM roundtables in other regions and a national framework.

Who should attend?

• TV station general managers and news directors from both commercial and public media
• Local and state emergency managers, including sheriffs, alert originators, and PIO’s
• Area members of the State Emergency Communications Committee
• Federal and non-federal alerting regional officials
• Selected expert technology solution providers and device makers
• Officials involved in emergency communications policy and planning.

Hotel Information

Our official partner for the Roundtable is The Montecito Inn, which is offering a 20% discount off their room rates when you book with the code “AWARN.” If you prefer to stay at another location, the following hotels are in the vicinity of KEYT-TV at 730 Miramonte Drive at TV Hill in Santa Barbara:

• The Montecito Inn (20% off with the code “AWARN”)
• The Beachside Inn
• The Hilton Santa Barbara Beachfront Resort
• Marina Beach Inn (smaller venue)
• Marriot Residence Inn Santa Barbara Goleta (near airport)

Registration is required for this invite-only event. For more information please contact Anya Shetler at anya@AWARN.org. Sponsorship opportunities are available.