The first of a series of planned round table discussions on Public Service Telecommunications in the U.S. Pacific Island jurisdictions was hosted by the National Weather Service Pacific Region Headquarters and the PEACESAT Program of the University of Hawaii, co-chairs of the Pacific Risk Management ‘Ohana’s (PRIMO) Communications Hui. The purpose of the round table discussions is to bring together representatives from various public service sectors including meteorology, disaster management, health, education, economic development and others that have interest and work with Pacific Island jurisdictions.
This first round table was scheduled to follow the North Pacific Tsunami Awareness Conference (NPTAC), held August 18-20, 2008, at the Ala Moana Hotel in Honolulu. Disaster Managers and Weather Service officials from the US affiliated islands and others attending the NPTAC were invited to participate in this Roundtable. Among the 32 participants, included Lance Richman from the US EPA IX(phone), Dale Bouffiou, Regional FAA Operations Center Manager (Southwest-Pacific), Tony Tareg, Lt. Governor of Yap State, FSM, and Peter Koltermann, the Head of the Tsunami Unit of the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission. Other participants who joined by phone, included Kelly Sponberg, RANET Program Manager, Silver Spring, Maryland, Bruce Best, University of Guam PEACESAT Manager, and Colin Schulz, SPREP (Secretariat for the Pacific Environment Programme) Communications Consultant, from Brisbane. The participant list is included in Attachment 2. The meeting agenda included a discussion by participants on telecommunication needs and applications; a review of issues, challenges; and update on telecommunication infrastructure development and opportunities; and ended with a review of possible venues for collaboration.
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Complete Summary of Discussions
Round Table Discussions Participant List
