TORONTO – The World Broadcasting Unions (WBU), a coordinating body for broadcast unions around the world, today announced it “strongly endorses the “Call to Action on Emergency Alerting”, which supports the implementation of the international standard alerting format Common Alerting Protocol (CAP),” a WBU press release says.
The call to action requests a greater effort be made “to ensure that by 2025 all countries have the capacity for effective and authoritative emergency alerting that leverages the CAP, suitable for all media and all hazards,” the release says.
The standard “makes public alerting faster, easier, less error-prone, and more understandable.” It helps broadcasters “be certain that an alert is authentic and authoritative, and to cross-check alerts from diverse sources. CAP alerts can also be compiled on a map to show how different aspects of the emergency are evolving,” says the press release.
The call to action was initiated by the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, the International Telecommunications Union, and the World Meteorological Organization, according to a website dedicated to the call.
