2011 CONFERENCE PROVES

KNOWLEDGE IS POWER 

Emily Reinstein, Dr. Richard Lemen, Doug Larkin, Paul Zygielbaum, and Linda Reinstein

 

The 7th Annual International Asbestos  

Awareness Conference,"Asbestos: Impact on Public Health, Environment, and Economy" was attended by more than 100 participants, speakers, honorees and volunteers.

We are excited to share our conference photos and new video: Asbestos: One Word. One Week. One World on YouTube. This year, for the first time, Asbestos Awareness Week went global - as representatives and organizations from around the world presented a unified voice over seven days. During Global Asbestos Awareness Week (GAAW), "E X P O S E D - The Facts about Asbestos," guest writers from Canada, Mexico, Japan, South America, India, and the UK opened our eyes to the devastation asbestos is leaving for future generations.

We are enormously thankful to the Cyrus family for attending the conference. ADAO presented the Warren Zevon "Keep Me in Your Heart" Memorial Tribute posthumously to Ron Cyrus (father of Billy Ray Cyrus and grandfather of Miley Cyrus), a Kentucky Legislator for 21 years, who passed away in 2006 from mesothelioma. The conference was also a time for healing, as families and friends united to strengthen ADAO's voice of the victims.

Made possible through the collaborative efforts of the Barbara Ann Karmanos Cancer Institute, this year's event provided a forum where leaders could share their knowledge and experience. On Saturday, an international panel of speakers addressed public health, environmental and economic impacts; social media advances; workers' rights; new prevention resources; and global advocacy. Other conference highlights included musical performances by ADAO National Spokesperson Jordan Zevon and Jordan Summers.

A large part of what made the 2011 conference a success is ADAO's increasing use of social media tools, as well as our globally linked programs and resources. Our ability to easily "like, share, and comment" allowed users of our various websites, Facebook pages, Twitter feeds, and blogs to participate in the conference. ADAO continued to improve our conference logistics with our new 2011 online program in a wonderful eMagazine format.

ADAO sincerely appreciates our partners, speakers, sponsors and our tireless volunteers who made our conference possible. Stay tuned for updates on our 2012 conference. Together we continue to prove that knowledge is indeed stronger than asbestos.

In unity,

Linda Reinstein, CEO and Co-Founder  

Workers' Memorial Day (April 28th) is an international day of remembrance of workers killed in incidents at work, or by diseases caused by work. On this day there are numerous events held throughout the world to bring attention to workers' rights.

FACTS: 

• Each year, more than two million women and men die as a result of work-related accidents and diseases
• One worker dies every 15 seconds worldwide. 6,000 workers die every day. Work kills more people than wars.
• Workers suffer approximately 270 million occupational accidents each year, and fall victim to some 160 million incidents of work-related illnesses. 
• Hazardous substances kill 440,000 workers annually - asbestos claims 100,000 lives.