South Africa to be represented at Garec 2007

The South African Radio League will be represented at the 2007 Global Amateur Radio Emergency Communications (GAREC) Conference, which will be held in Huntsville, Alabama, on Thursday, 16th and Friday, 17th August 2007. GAREC-07 is focussing on the application of advanced technologies in emergency communications.

GAREC started as an initiative of IARU Region 1. In 2005, Seppo Sisatto, OH1VR, now IARU Region 1 Emergency Communications Coordinator, organized the first meeting in Tampere, Finland - the "Capital of Emergency Telecommunications." It was here that in 1998 the United Nations and the International Telecommunication Union convened an intergovernmental conference, ICET-98, which adopted the "Tampere Convention."

This international treaty facilitates the use of telecommunications in humanitarian assistance, and made "Tampere" known throughout the telecommunications community. Conferences on the same subject were held in the following years. In 2006 GAREC met in Tampere for the second time, now in connection with the International Conference on Emergency Communications, ICEC-2006 and the UN Working Group on Emergency Telecommunications.

The agenda of GAREC-07 will focus mainly on the topics discussed in Tampere. Most of all, GAREC wants to be a forum for the exchange of information. Many IARU member-societies and specialized emergency communications groups have developed and implemented emergency concepts. Many others want to benefit from their technical, operational and, not the least, their administrative or even "political" experiences when establishing the necessary cooperation with partners in emergency and disaster response.

South Africa, and more specific the SARL in its own right, has been able to share information and has added value to the conferences in the past. GAREC also developed new concepts, such as the "Centre of Activity Frequencies," meanwhile adopted by IARU Region 1 and 3 conferences.

The review of advanced, digital technologies and their applications to emergency telecommunications will be an additional element for GAREC-07. The two-day conference will be packed with practical information, and experts will arrange demonstrations of the capabilities of 21st century ham radio!

With the support of the Department of Transport, the SARL will be represented by HAMNET's National Director Francois Botha, ZS6BUU.

Charles Norval of SASAR, in his letter supporting the SARL's participation, said that the SARL's attendance will be of benefit to both the South African Search and Rescue (SASAR) and the Air Traffic and Navigation System.