A productive GEM1-MAG Meeting 2-4 November

The GEM Governing Board appointed twelve international experts as members of the GEM1 Model Advisory Group (MAG). The MAG and the GEM1 team met for the first time in Zurich from 2-4 November. Goal of the meeting: review the status of the GEM1 project and provide recommendations for the last 5 months of GEM1. The secretary general of GEM, Rui Pinho, and the chair of the Governing Board, Anselm Smolka, also took part in the meeting.

Although a formal report will be presented to GEM’s Governing Board by the end of November, Andrew King, chair of the MAG, commended the GEM1 team in name of the MAG on the achievements so far. The MAG team provided the group with preliminary feedback and a number of specific preliminary recommendations. The most substantial suggestion of the MAG group is to improve even further the integration of hazard and risk an work from now on towards the creation of a seamless hazard-to-risk prototype.

Input from experts is crucial in the development of GEM, which strives to build a community resource. GEM will eventually feature a Technical Advisory Panel, a panel of 10-15 individuals from which a number of splinter advisory groups are formed to review specific details of GEM, as a function of its needs over the 5 years. The GEM1 MAG group is the first splinter group that was formed.

In order for the MAG and the GEM1 team to get to know each other a bit better, the local organizers took an unusual step and organized dinners for four sub-groups at various restaurants around Zurich. The table order was specified by GEM1 coordinator Stefan Wiemer, but each table had to agree on their preferred choice of food. A very original idea that resulted in interesting discussions and certainly contributed to a good atmosphere for the meeting.

The next MAG-meeting will take place in April 2010, right after completion of the GEM1 project.