Businessmen gather for meeting on disaster-preparedness

MANILA, Philippines - The two-day conference “Protect 2011: Doing Business Amidst New Threats” starts tomorrow, April 5 at the New World Hotel to provide expert knowledge on what leaders in the business community and society need to plan for, survive and manage recovery from natural disasters, pandemics, cyber attacks and damage to intellectual property.

The Philippines is among the countries whose economies risk damage from calamities with increasing frequency and severity. In addition, the country faces disasters arising from economic sabotage due to terrorism, cyber attacks, and crimes through violation of intellectual property rights.

Key national leaders have been invited to emphasize the importance of security at Protect 2011 such as: Defense Secretary Voltaire T. Gazmin, National Security Adviser Cesar P. Garcia Jr. and Secretary of Transportation and Communications Jose P. de Jesus.

The Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC) is the partner agency of Protect 2011, now on its sixth year. With its role as builder and promoter of critical infrastructures, the DOTC seeks to strengthen the government-private sector preparedness for disaster through networking and sustaining awareness for updated means for disaster preparedness.

Those interested to join the conference from April 5 to 6 at the New World Hotel may contact the conference organizer Leverage International (Consultants) Inc. at 810-1389; 818-6828 or Fax No. 810-1594 or e-mail: [email protected].

Included in the agenda of the conference are preparedness for natural disasters, pandemics, terrorist attacks, cyber threats, and threats to intellectual property rights.

There is a session on strengthening community and business resiliency which includes the role of new media and technology, securing critical infrastructures, building a “smart city” and developing public and private sector partnership for low-cost effective emergency management and business continuity.

Another important session of the conference will be the introduction to the delegates of the latest technologies for network video by AXIS Communications of Singapore, the future of surveillance by Panasonic, building an e-city by Huawei Technologies and protecting business-critical processes by Kaspersky.

Resource persons in Protect 2011 come from international agencies, government and the private sector: United Nations, ESCAP, Aviation Security International, International Centre for Political Violence and Terrorism Research (Singapore), Hewlett Packard, Nanyang Technological University, Huawei Technologies, RSA-EMC, DOST, IPO, AIM, Business Profiles, Axis Communications and the Institute of Strategic and International Studies.