D E S I GN I NG TH E CON F E R E N C E
To link the citizens of Louisiana with “Opportunities for SUccess,” the 2021 Inaugural Emergency Preparedness, Response, and Recovery Virtual Conference was designed as an opportunity to add capacity to our programming and increase our impact. Emergency preparedness for our communities is always at the forefront of our minds because the state of Louisiana has had numerous fatal emergencies, including hurricanes, floods, and tornadoes. We branded the event using “SU” in “success” to bring to mind our institution, Southern University. The Southern University Agricultural Research and Extension Center (SUAREC) provides programming and support to aid communities and Louisiana citizens in the recovery phase. This conference was designed with Louisiana citizens in mind, to mitigate loss of life, mitigate loss of property, and to equip communities with the knowledge, skills, and attitudes to aid in the recovery process as it relates to emergency preparedness. Using the historic 2016 Louisiana Flood as our conceptual lens, we focused on our individual efforts as second responders; SUAREC’s response to help mitigate future losses; and the role and linkage of Extension professionals as second responders. We decided to host a conference to provide education and resources to assist the following audiences:
rural, urban and peri-urban communities
families
farmers
companies
community-based organizations
schools
faith-based organizations
first responders
Extension professionals
Our goals included:
empowering low-resourced and rural communities to mobilize preparedness initiatives;
ensuring that emergency responders within these communities have clearly outlined goals/duties to aid in effectiveness (emergency response);
providing more effective links to recovery efforts for rural, urban, and peri-urban communities;
providing knowledge about recovery funding for farmers; and
ensuring that families collectively gain knowledge about emergency preparedness tools.
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