Limited funds, travel restrictions, short-staffed?  While these factors keep some from participating in additional training opportunities or conferences, there are alternative ways to participate at a low cost or free.  Training is essential for a field that is so comprehensive as emergency management.  Tele-conferencing and virtual attendance allows professionals to participate in conferences and gain knowledge, expert advice, and be able to ask questions.  It is almost like being there in person except you are in the luxury of office or home.  There are alternatives out there for professional emergency managers, staff, students, and citizens interested in the field.   Here is one such opportunity:

FEMA Emergency Management Institute Emergency Education Network (EENET)
http://www.fema.gov/emi/eenet.htm

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We provide a partial listing of upcoming conferences and workshops relating to Emergency Management.  Additional conference listings can be found on the World Wide Web.  Two of these sites include:

Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA)
http://www.fema.gov/fema/confrnc.htm

Natural Hazards Center at the University of Colorado at Boulder
(**good comprehensive listing**)
http://www.colorado.edu/hazards/conf.html
 

January:

Disaster Leadership Conference 2002— January 3-6, 2002— Dallas, Texas
American Red Cross.  Contact: Disaster Leadership Conference, American Red Cross, Office of Events Management, 430 17th Street, N.W., Washington, DC 2006; (202) 434-4098; fax: (202) 639-6163. 

Preparedness Through Partnership-Integrating Medical Mass Care Management in a WMD Incident—January 11-15, 2002— St. Petersburg, Florida
Veterans Health Administration. Contact Dennis W. Mullins, Coordinator Medical Education, Office of Education, Veterans Health Administration, (727) 398-9306; fax: (727) 398-9556; e-mail: dennis.mullins@med.va.gov; WWW: http://www.va.gov/wmd. 

Urban Hazards Forum—January 22- 24, 2002—New York City, New York
Federal Emergency Management Agency Region II and John Jay College of Criminal Justice.  Contact: Urban Hazards Forum, Public Management Department, 445 West 59th Street, New York, NY 10019; e-mail: urbanhazardforum@jjay.cuny.edu; WWW: http://www.jjay.cuny.edu/urbanhazardsforum. 

Disaster Management 2002—January 28-29, 2002—Las Vegas, Nevada
Hosted by the National Institute for Government Innovation (NIGI) and The George Washington University. Sponsors: International Association of Emergency Managers, Terrorism Response Association International, National Terrorism Preparedness Institute, and Institute for Business and Home Safety. Contact: (888) 670-8200; fax: (941) 365-2507; e-mail: register@iirusa.com; WWW: http://www.nigi.org/h0166.htm.

Disaster 2002— January 31-February 3, 2002—Orlando, Florida
Florida Emergency Medicine Foundation and the Florida College of Emergency Physicians.   John Todaro, Director of Education, Florida Emergency Medicine Foundation, Florida College of Emergency Physicians, 3717 South Conway Road, Orlando, FL 32812-7607; (800) 766-6335 or (407) 281-7396; fax: (407) 281-4407; e-mail: jtodaro@fcep.org; WWW: http://www.fcep.org.

Thanks to our colleagues at the Natural Hazards Research and Applications Information Center at the University of Colorado in Boulder, CO for use of their conference lists.