Meta hosted the event in collaboration with several different agencies from across the Inland Empire, including Riverside and San Bernardino counties. "(We wanted to) bring partners together so that they can learn how to leverage Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, and our family of apps before, during, and after a crisis," said Meta politics and government outreach manager Adán Chávez.
Individuals participating in the summit were able to attend several different activities, including a panel discussing communication during a crisis. Shane Reichardt is a spokesperson for Riverside County's Emergency Management Department and was a panelist during the summit. "Reaching the community during times of disaster and emergencies is just really incredibly important and getting more and more challenging," said Reichardt.
Reichardt says the county mainly uses Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter when emergencies arise. "We use them pretty much anytime there's something going on in our county, especially when it requires people to take action," said Reichardt. "So where there's evacuations, shelter in place, those kinds of activities, we want to catch people early on, let them know what's going on, and let them know what actions they need to take to be safe."
Some other discussion topics during the summit included utilizing WhatsApp during emergencies, disaster fundraising, and storytelling in crisis moments.
