Center for Exhibition Safety and Security
This is a resource center for members providing relevant materials on planning for the safety and security of exhibitions and for the people who attend them. We hope by providing the materials on this page, members will be able to make better informed decisions about planning for unanticipated events and how to handle emergency situations leading up to and at an exhibition.
Although some of the resources were developed more than a year ago, they are still relevant today. Please use any of the sources listed below for your needs.
Crisis Management and Emergency Preparedness
- White Paper on Security: Helpful Information for Your Exhibitor Manual (2003)
- White Paper: Threats and Hazards - Bob Mellinger (2003)
- White Paper: Emergency Response Planning (2003)
- Model Crisis Plan (2010)
Influenza and Other Health Related Issues
Crisis Management and Emergency Preparedness
- IAEE's Crisis Communications Plan Template (Adobe PDF)
Influenza and Other Health-Related Issues
Crisis Plan - Influenza (2009)
Download in PDF format to plan your exhibitions and events.
An epidemic of infectious disease that is spreading through human populations across a large region; for instance a continent, or even worldwide. A widespread endemic disease that is stable in terms of how many people are getting sick from it is not a pandemic. Further, flu pandemics exclude seasonal flu. Throughout history there have been a number of pandemics, such as smallpox and tuberculosis. More recent pandemics include the HIV pandemic and the 2009 swine flu pandemic.
A disease epidemic occurs when there are more cases of that disease than normal. A pandemic is a worldwide epidemic of a disease. An influenza pandemic may occur when a new influenza virus appears against which the human population has no immunity. With the increase in global transport, as well as urbanization and overcrowded conditions in some areas, epidemics due to a new influenza virus are likely to take hold around the world, and become a pandemic faster than before. The World Health Organization (WHO) has defined the phases of a pandemic to provide a global framework to aid countries in pandemic preparedness and response planning. Pandemics can be either mild or severe in the illness and death they cause, and the severity of a pandemic can change over the course of that pandemic.
2009 H1N1 (referred to as “swine flu” early on) is a new influenza virus causing illness in people. This new virus was first detected in people in the United States in April 2009. This virus is spreading from person-to-person worldwide, probably in much the same way that regular seasonal influenza viruses spread. On June 11, 2009, the World Health Organization (WHO) signaled that a pandemic of 2009 H1N1 flu was underway.
Severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) is a viral respiratory illness caused by a coronavirus, called SARS-associated coronavirus (SARS-CoV). SARS was first reported in Asia in February 2003. Over the next few months, the illness spread to more than two dozen countries in North America, South America, Europe, and Asia before the SARS global outbreak of 2003 was contained. This fact sheet gives basic information about the illness and what CDC has done to control SARS in the United States. To find out more about SARS, go to CDC's SARS website and WHO's SARS website.
To assist exhibitions and events professionals with plans, the U.S. Travel Association has created a tool kit of useful information that can be accessed by clicking on the links below, or by visiting www.ustravel.org/swineflu.
