Y2K Preparedness Fair

On Saturday, April 17th, the City of Oakland's Office of Emergency Services, along with Oakland 2001, will sponsor a free emergency preparedness fair at the Scottish Rite Center from noon until 4 pm. You'll find a wide variety of information on how to be prepared for any disruptions that may be caused by the Y2K bug.

On hand will be representatives from government agencies, merchants, non-profits, and community groups. They'll discuss your concerns and sell relevant emergency items. We'll have a childrens' activity area, and refreshments will be sold.

Don't panic - prepare!

What:

Y2K Preparedness Fair

When:

Saturday April 17, noon until 4 pm

Where:

Scottish Rite Center, 1547 Lakeside Drive, Fourth Floor
(Across the street from Lake Merritt; half a block from the Cameron-Stanford house).

Cost:

Free

Accessibility:

The main auditorium is accessible via elevator. Some of the side rooms are not wheelchair accessible. Our apologies.

Contact:

For press inquiries, contact Chief Don Parker at 510.238.4053.

To become a vendor or sponsor, please contact Oakland 2001 at 510.595.5505 or at oak2001-org@anamorph.com

Hosted by:

City of Oakland, Office of Emergency Services
CORE program
Oakland 2001: Y2K Network for Community Preparedness and Advocacy

Children are welcome!

*raising the need for Y2K public education through outreach and advocacy
*presentations, public events, and joint projects with other community organizations and local government
*supporting the growth of neighborhood preparedness groups throughout the City
*participating in the City's Y2K Task Force and Community Preparedness Partnership
*encouraging collaboration among all sectors in the work of Y2K preparedness
*promoting public dialogue about community self-sufficiency and resilience

Oakland 2001:

A Y2K Network for Community Preparedness and Advocacy

Ph: 510-595-5505
Fax: 510-261-2267
e-mail: oak2001-org@anamorph.com
P.O. Box 17002, Oakland, CA 94601

http://www.anamorph.com/oak2001.html

See also ...

Tom Atlee * The Co-Intelligence Institute * Oakland, CA

http://www.co-intelligence.org

http://www.co-intelligence.org/Y2K.html

-- Diane J. Squire (sacredspaces@yahoo.com), April 16, 1999

Answers

Useful list ...

An Evolving Framework for Understanding Community Preparedness

by Rosa Zubizarreta
co-founder Oakland 20001

As our work in the area of Y2K community education unfolds, we are realizing the value of explicitly addressing all of the following levels of Y2K preparedness.

1) Local government addressing its internal preparedness, including:

Assessment & remediation of its own systems
Contingency planning
Educating and preparing its own work force

Key questions: To what degree will our local government be able to continue providing its usual range of functions and services?

2) City or regional coordination with major "Service Providers", including:

water
power
communications
hospitals
transportation
food banks
county, state, federal social service agencies

Key questions: To what degree will major service providers be able to continue providing their usual services? What kinds of contingency plans are we creating?

What level of emergency response assistance from outside resources is likely to be available in various scenarios?

3) Community education and outreach, including:

diverse language and ethnic communities
populations with special needs, including the elderly or disabled
small business owners

Key questions: How can we help all residents become informed and "Y2K- aware"? How can we help all residents prepare at the basic level of "Y2K earthquake preparedness"?

How can we mobilize existing city government resources and networks to participate in this work? What community resources can be of help?

4) Monitoring the readiness of other entities within the city, including:

businesses which use hazardous materials
non-profits that serve vulnerable populations
apartment buildings
senior centers, etc.

Key questions: To what degree will other entities in the city be able to continue providing their usual range of functions and services in a safe manner? What contingency plans do these other entities have in place?

How does this information affect the City goverment's own contingency plans?

5) Encouraging neighborhood & community organizing, including:

self-help groups where people can assist each other to prepare
service groups that reach out to vulnerable populations

Key questions: To what extent are community leaders -- leaders of faith communities, leaders of community-based organizations, leaders of neighborhood associations -- being invited to participate in the work of Y2K education and preparedness?

6) Creating a plan for long-range community resilience and sustainability

Key questions: How can we prepare our community for possible longer- term economic consequences of Y2K? What are the possible impacts on our region of Y2K non-compliance elsewhere in the world?

How can we make our city less dependent upon imports and exports?
How can we develop greater community self-sufficiency with regards to basic needs, including food and energy?
How can we keep more money and resources within our local community? < br> How can we create a strong and sustainable local economy?

-- Diane J. Squire (sacredspaces@yahoo.com), April 16, 1999.

Diane Thanks for the post. I will drive up there to help answer questions. As I have posted earlier, Oakland is doing a good job in citywide awareness campaign. They expect thousands to attend. Hope so.

-- Raymond Kwong (kcorner67@hotmail.com), April 16, 1999.