The COVID pandemic changed our ideas about emergency preparedness and gave us a new sense of urgency. Two months into the pandemic, we hosted a town hall event, supported by the Extension Foundation. We brought experts to the table from Florida, Texas, and Louisiana, and talked about emergency and hurricane preparedness in light of COVID. New kinds of questions arose. How do you evacuate during COVID-19? How could social distancing be observed in shelters? Would people wear masks? Who can go to a shelter? Could everyone be accommodated?
Krystle Allen shares information about the project at the Impact Collaborative. Credit: Extension Foundation
With so many things changing — the frequency and severity of hurricanes, the pandemic — we decided to offer an annual event of some sort that focuses on emergency preparedness. We needed to find a format to make that happen since face-to-face meetings were impossible during the peak of the pandemic. This is when the idea of a virtual conference emerged. Chapter Two: Designing the 2021 Inaugural Emergency Preparedness, Response, and Recovery Virtual Conference
In this chapter, we’ll share our design strategy, t he resources and people we consulted, and conference outcomes.
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