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Fairfax County, Virginia. June 7-9, 2002 - (CIDI) The Center for International
Disaster Information staff joined hundreds of exhibitors at Virginia’s only
music, entertainment and technical festival June 7 through 9, 2002, at the
Fairfax Country Government Center. This unique festival is an anticipated
annual event in Fairfax County, a community of almost one million
residents, and offers a combination of carnival, food and entertainment,
science and technology, business, and other special exhibits such as
radio and TV stations.
CIDI’s exhibit was centrally located in the Fairfax Business Expo tent
adjacent to the SciTech Center. Thousands of people attended the
festival. A great many attendees strolled through the business tent to
view all of the exhibits and discuss subjects of most interest with the
relevant presenters, including the CIDI.
One of the main objectives of the CIDI program is to educate the public about
appropriate in-kind donation activities for international disaster relief. The
CIDI hosted visitors throughout the weekend and is pleased to report that more
than three hundred interested people stopped at the CIDI exhibit for
information. These attendees will go back to their families, communities,
workplaces and places of worship to share what they have learned about how
best individuals, groups and corporations can provide assistance to victims
of disaster around the globe.
Many attendees already knew about the CIDI, or had personal experience in
providing assistance in previous international disasters. The CIDI staff
were delighted to have the visitors share their knowledge and concerns with
us. Others wanted to discuss and learn how to find and select reliable relief
agencies who would put their cash donations to use effectively. The CIDI was
particularly pleased to note the marked interest of the students from middle,
secondary and college schools who have demonstrated a genuine interest in
humanitarian affairs and wanted to learn more about how they could become
involved. Some visitors expressed an interest in attending the CIDI’s
training sessions in order to volunteer with the CIDI’s. The program’s
hotline service uses trained volunteers to assist in handling public
inquiries in response to major international emergencies. Several visitors
came back the second day to tell us that they had shared our information
with their families and neighbors and to comment on our interesting
website. Others came to learn, seeking information for themselves or their
relatives, and everyone was interested in preparedness, mitigation and
prevention activities.
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