For those of you who may want useful things to fill these steamy days where air quality makes it too dicey to cavort outdoors, check out the following: The District Department of Emergency Preparedness provides directions for emergency planning including the process of creating a family plan and mapping evacuation routes. Last winter’s weather holding us in a snow-lock may induce us to sign up for District “Emergency Text Messages” from the Department of Emergency Preparedness.

This information and registering for the emergency texts can be completed at www.72hours. dc.gov. Contact Kim McCall, Emergency Planning Specialist, District of Columbia Homeland Security and Emergency Management Agency at www. hsema.dc.gov, (202) 481-3015, (202) 369-6888 cell, or by email kim.mccall@dc.gov

For those with an interest in better preparing high-rise buildings, the Department of Homeland Security has offered several tips which can be read at DHA website.

Building managers, property owners, and building security personnel should get as much training as possible with regards to the natural and man-made threats likely to occur in the city. For information on this training, please contact the HSEMA training department, point of contact is Plesant Mann at 202-481-3052 or visit the website at www.hsema.dc.gov

Institute of Peace Online Certificate Program

For community members who serve our community, the Institute of Peace (our new FB neighbor) offers a number of free self study, certificate courses online including “Negotiation and Conflict Management” and “Conflict Analysis”.

The Education and Training Center (ETC) of the United States Institute of Peace develops both online and onsite courses on subjects related to conflict management and peace building. These courses are designed for students in graduate and undergraduate programs, as well as professionals in diplomacy, the military, law enforcement, academics, civil society, nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) and international organizations (IOs), both in the United States and around the world.

The material for these online courses is developed to complement their onsite programs which are highly interactive and draw heavily upon the professional experiences of their participants. Online courses may be taken on their own, or as an introduction or follow-up to the Institute’s onsite programs.

The “CONFLICT ANALYSIS” course is the first in a series that will eventually include courses in negotiation, mediation and other activities related to conflict management—all available online.

The course is structured to bring numerous perspectives on the subject of conflict analysis, as well as on the conflict in Kosovo and the genocide in Rwanda. These perspectives come in the form of audio clips culled from over twenty hours of interviews conducted with Institute trainers, other noted specialists, grassroots organizers, military professionals, and individuals who were personally affected by the conflicts. Effective action is invariably the product of insightful analysis.

The course is approximately 65 pages in length. Throughout the course, you will be prompted to test your understanding of terms and concepts. When the course is complete, you will have the opportunity to take a certificate exam. If you pass the exam, you will earn our Certificate of Course Completion in Conflict Analysis. Summer school anyone?