UN-ESCAP, ABU Support Roadshow on Emergency Warning Broadcasting Systems

A workshop on Emergency Warning Broadcasting Systems (EWBS) Implementation was opened here today in the presence of Information Minister H.E. Khieu Kanharith.

Jointly organized by the Asia-Pacific Broadcasting Union (ABU) and the Cambodian Ministry of Information, with the support from the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UN-ESCAP), the two-day Roadshow aims to train on how concerned government agencies and broadcasters can work together to disseminate early warning messages.

It will also attempt to create awareness on coordination process and procedures for disaster warning.

As many as 110 trainees from relevant ministries and media organizations are participating in this workshop, which will showcase how broadcasters can make use of the technology to implement early warning systems on their existing national broadcast networks. Experts in the field of EWBS will carry out focused sessions and system demonstrations to emulate how the system works and how best to coordinate the process within the involved agencies, both national and regional.

Mr. Ahmed Nadeem, representative of ABU, said EWBS are very important in providing warnings to the public about impending natural disasters.

Information Minister H.E. Khieu Kanharith attached much importance to the EWBS, praising ABU and UN-ESCAP for running the workshop to raise journalists’ skills in disseminating early natural disaster warning messages.

Such workshop has already taken place this month in Malaysia and Thailand. It is also scheduled to be held in September in Vietnam, the Philippines and China.