Launched in 2008 by the National Emergency Crisis & Disaster Management Authority (NCEMA) the Crisis and Emergency Management Conference (CEMC) returned to the Fairmont Bab Al Bahr Hotel in Abu Dhabi on January 16-17, 2012 with its third edition (CEMC 2012). CEMC 2012 was organized by the Institute for Near East & Gulf Military Analysis (INEGMA) for the very first time and reflects the consolidating position of INEGMA as the leading organizer of high-level conferences in the UAE with a multiplicity of government partners. On its first day, the conference gathered around 600 participants and around 450 participants on its second day. The conference raised awareness and educated national crisis management communities and their partners in the UAE and GCC of the systems and processes to be employed during potential crisis scenarios. By drawing on expert insights from thought leaders and subject matter authorities from around the world, CEMC 2012 kept its participants at the cutting edge of the conceptual and practical aspects of responding to a plethora of potential large-scale emergency situation challenges.

The CEMC 2012 agenda explored the following topics: Measuring Success in Coordinating Humanitarian Relief Operations- Latest Lessons Learned, Managing Natural Disasters; Challenges and Lessons Learned, Responding to An Escalating Crisis – Lessons Learned from Australia’s Flood Response in 2011, National Emergency Plan for the Telecommunications Sector, Measuring Resilience - Community Subsystems and their Ability to Withstand Disasters, Mechanisms to Measure the Effectiveness of Crisis Response Plans, Hyogo Framework for Action 2005-2015: Building the Resilience of Nations and Communities to Disasters, Crisis Management of Korea's Nuclear Power Plants, The Role of Numerical Models in Predicting Natural and Nuclear Disasters, Effective Urban Search & Rescue- Capitalizing on Interoperable GIS Technology, The Role of Information in the Current Operating Environment, UAE's NSDI and its Applications in Emergency and Disaster Management, Understanding the Evolving Role of Social Media in Crisis Management, in addition to two workshops on: From Hurricane Katrina to Deep-Water Horizon: Managing Catastrophic Events through Unity of Effort and Facilitating Greater Business Continuity Planning through Enhanced Public-Private Sector Co-operation.

CEMC 2012 succeeded in delivering the latest insights on international best practices informed by lessons learned from recent operations to assist in the alleviation, preparation, response to and recovery of emergency situations. A number of networking sessions at CEMC 2012 further enabled peer-to-peer discussion amongst the crisis and disaster management community at the international level to enable global perspectives on issues of professional interest.