isaster Resistant California is a conference series that expands on the concepts set forth by the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s Project Impact program. Like the federal Project Impact program, Disaster Resistant California promotes public/private partnerships in an effort to reduce the vulnerability of individual communities to natural and man-made disasters.

This unique conference series has evolved into an exciting and highly dynamic exploration of disaster mitigation, planning, preparedness, response and recovery. Disaster Resistant California is designed to bring together emergency management professionals, local and state government representatives and private business partners to share ideas, technology and resources for the purpose of mitigating disasters. The California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services (OES) also models this partnership concept by co-hosting the annual conference with a different emergency management agency each year. In 2003, The Collaborative for Disaster Mitigation will be joining OES to host “Disaster Resistant California MMIII (2003): Multi-Hazard Mitigation – Innovation, Integration and Implementation” at the Fairmont Hotel in San Jose, California, April 21-23, 2003.

The conference will offer a variety of training and networking opportunities. This year’s program will include compelling cases from local, state and federal authorities and nationally known experts offering innovative solutions for today’s emergency management environment. Presenters will be high level officials and nationally known experts from major companies, and local, state and federal governments. Attendees will represent a broad spectrum of elected officials, managers, practitioners, researchers, and others responsible for, or interested in, reducing the risks from natural and man-made disasters. Disaster Resistant California will also continue its tradition of hosting international delegations for the purpose of sharing knowledge, experiences, ideas and innovations in emergency management with California communities and businesses.

Focusing on the importance of disaster resistant communities, the conference’s presentations, displays, and demonstrations will emphasize successful systems, technologies, and strategies to implement hazard mitigation measures and programs. As in the past, there will be a diverse representation of vendors and exhibitors from the public and private sectors on-site to answer questions and showcase the latest development in emergency products.