Vizada Networks participated in one of the largest humanitarian exercises in the world, Triplex, taking place in the border area between Norway and Sweden from the 13th to the 19th September.
Objectives
“Triplex offers a unique opportunity for international humanitarian actors to meet and practice their skills and common approaches. The scenario provides a very open and adaptable platform, which calls for the participating organizations to not only be participants, but also co-creators of the exercise”.1
Triplex 2008 dealt with three main themes:
- Humanitarian response, with key elements such as humanitarian reform process, increased partnerships, coordination, assessment as well as programming and phase out strategies.
- Environmental emergencies and hazardous materials. Key elements are water and air contamination from waste dumps and chemical factories.
- Training of the use of support services, i.e. telecommunications equipment, mapping.
In addition, safety&security management, media management, cultural awareness, practise personal preparedness, understanding of the special needs of people with disabilities in disaster situations and other issues were in focus during the exercise.
The Pre-Exercise Programme was held at Starum, on the western banks of Mjøsa, the biggest lake in Norway, between September 14th and 15th. Participants had the opportunity to present their organizations and acquire new skills during attractive seminars and practical workshops. These included Practical Treat Assessment on Mission; First-Aid Training; Telling your story – The media; GPS, Google Earth and the Geography of Emergencies; Using Communication Equipment on Mission; Four-wheels driving.
  Scenario
The actual exercise was held from the 15th to the 18th September in the surroundings of Morokulien, approximately two hours drive south-east of Starum. The exercise was based on a floods scenario, which affects two countries, Eastlandia and Westlandia that have been created for the purpose of this exercise.
“In reality, Westlandia corresponds to Østlandet region in Norway with an actual population of 2.3 million inhabitants and Eastlandia corresponds to Värmland County in Sweden with an actual population of 276.000 inhabitants.1” The two municipalities of Eidskog and Eda in Norway and Sweden respectively, participated actively in the exercise. The role players representing the affected population were mainly recruited from local inhabitants.   Vizada Networks’ role
“Triplex helps us better understand and address customers’ needs in emergency," said Per Rune Iversen, who presented Vizada Networks and its offerings for the humanitarian market in the Speaker’s Corner.
Andre Kida and Henning Nilsen, Vizada Networks’ Technical Support, demonstrated Quick Deploy VSAT – easily transportable satellite equipment suited for humanitarian organizations expecting technology to work “as usual”. This equipment was developed 6 years ago in co-operation with UNICEF. As a part of Vizada Networks all-in-one solutions, Quick Deploy VSAT suits perfect organizations that require the full range of high-speed voice, data, fax, and Internet access regardless of location. It’s also a dependable backup solution to the terrestrial networks of defence and government organizations and companies of all sizes.
During the Triplex Field Exercise, Vizada Networks’ Quick Deploy VSAT provided humanitarian actors with wireless Internet access and VoIP in the base camp communications centre. With Internet connection established in less than two hours, and data rate of 512kbps, hereby 128kbps dedicated for voice, Quick Deploy VSAT proved to be crucial for reliable communications over satellite in emergency.
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About Triplex
Triplex is a biennial humanitarian exercise, which was first organized in 1997. It is organized by the International Humanitarian Partnership (IHP), a voluntary international cooperation which provides support for international humanitarian operations. The members of the partnership are:
- The Norwegian Directorate for Civil Protection and Emergency Planning (DCPEP)
- The Danish Emergency Management Agency (DEMA)
- The UK’s Department for International Development (DFID)
- The Finish Ministry of Interior’s Rescue Force (FRF)
- The Swedish Rescue Services Agency (SRSA)
- The Estonian Rescue Board
- The Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Triplex is organized by the IHP members on a rotating basis. The 2008 exercise is hosted jointly by SRSA and the DCPEP, and supported financially by DFID.
A wide range of humanitarian actors have registered for the exercise. They are the IHP member states, UN organizations such as OCHA, WFP, UNOSAT, UNICEF as well as EU participants from DG Environment and ECHO and a large variety of NGO’s, companies and other actors within the field of humanitarian relief operations.
1 International Humanitarian Partnership (IHP)
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