Conference Background 

Over the past 10 years, Tampere has become a synonym for the facilitation of the application of Telecommunications in Humanitarian Assistance:

In 1991, the city hosted the International Conference on Disaster Communications, which adopted the Tampere Declaration. This statement of experts from the major humanitarian organizations, regulatory authorities and the private sector became the foundation for all the subsequent work towards an international treaty to allow the un-hindered use of telecommunication technology in international disaster response.

In 1994, Tampere hosted the Annual Meeting of the International Institute of Communications (IIC), which included a Special Session on Disaster Communications.

In 1998, Tampere welcomed the Intergovernmental Conference on Emergency Telecommunications (ICET-98), which adopted the Tampere Convention on the Provision of Telecommunications for Disaster Mitigation and Relief Operations, an international treaty, deposited with the United Nations Secretary-General. The Convention has so far been signed and ratified by 48 and 8 Member States respectively.

In 2001, Tampere will host the CDC-2001. In view of its character as a conference of experts, with the same characteristics as the conference of 10 years ago, this conference is called The Second Tampere Conference on Disaster Communications. Like the 1991 event, CDC-2001 is expected to agree on a statement of experts; the Conference will provide an excellent opportunity for governments to sign and ratify the Tampere Convention, but its own resulting document will have the character of recommendations and not that of an international treaty.

CDC-2001 is therefore open to participants from all sectors concerned with the application of telecommunications to disaster mitigation and response operations:

• Humanitarian organizations, such as United Nations agencies, the Red Cross movement, and national, regional and international governmental and non governmental organizations (NGOs),
• National and international regulatory authorities,
• Private sector enterprises, such as national and multi-national Telecommunications service providers and manufacturers of telecommunications equipment,
• Individual experts from all the above fields and from the academic sector.

All items on the agenda of the conference have aspects, which need the co-operation among all the above groups. The urgently needed inter-connectivity among the communications networks of all partners can not be achieved, unless users and providers of telecommunications networks and tools work together, if the regulatory framework allows the un-hindered use of all appropriate means. Much has been achieved, since these issues were first considered in the 1991 conference, but much remains to be done. Once again it will be at Tampere Hall, that a decisive event takes place on the way will be to the full application of the rapidly developing telecommunications technology in the service of the most noble of tasks: The prevention, and, where such is not possible, the alleviation of human suffering caused by disasters.