FEMA Sustainability Hackathon

If you want to build a culture of preparedness, you need to have practices, systems and guidance that can resonate with people, withstand the test of time and be relevant for future generations. Sustainable practices support ecological, human, and economic health, presumes that resources are finite, and should be used wisely with a view to long-term priorities and consequences.

This spring, in honor of Earth Day, FEMA is hosting a Hackathon to explore in-depth the best sustainable approaches to emergency preparedness.

Here are the goals:

1. Find best sustainable practices for food, water, shelter, power preparedness & hazard mitigation that will be turned into a suite of well-targeted solutions for individuals and communities to adopt.

1. Take into account accessibility to the broad and inclusive base of stakeholders we have and address the circumstances and challenges different groups of people face, such as low-income families, the aging population, and those with access and functional needs.

1. Emphasize best practices viable beyond the 72hr time period, are renewable, and take into consideration the changing environment.

1. Promote discussion, collaboration and creation of initiatives with other organizations on resilient and sustainable practices in emergency preparedness and hazard mitigation.

FEMA Sustainability Hackathon will consist of one full day where subject matter experts, thought leaders and representatives from all levels of government, state extension services, aid agencies, private sector partners, and members of academia come together to discuss and define how best to prepare and conduct mitigation in ways that last and do minimal damage to the earth in the face of the changing environment and escalating natural disasters.

This Hackathon, while optional, will be a deep dive in to the details to solve some of our most critical issues surrounding sustainable practices in emergency preparedness and how to make it accessible to people and communities.

We are setting the tables, opening the forum and looking for participants and volunteers to feature at this emergency preparedness and mitigation hackathon for social change. If you have expertise in the realm of sustainable food production or storage, gardening, water collection or purification, emergency power generation, renewable power sources, sustainable sheltering, recycling, homesteading, farming, or implementing sustainable solutions in communities, we would love to have you!

p.s. Snacks will be provided.