The Virginia Emergency Management Symposium (VEMS) is being held from March 18 – 21, 2024 at the Newport News Marriott City Center! VEMS is an annual event, co-sponsored by the Virginia Emergency Management Association and the Virginia Department of Emergency Management, providing a forum to discuss current trends and topics and share information about the latest practices, tools, and technology in emergency management and homeland security. Sessions encourage stakeholders at all levels of government, the private sector, public health and related professions to exchange ideas and collaborate to protect lives and property from disaster.
The theme for 2024 is “The Day After Tomorrow: Are We Prepared?” and was chosen to reflect the constantly changing threat environment that emergency managers face. Proposed topics will cover data-informed decision-making; preparing for the unexpected through progressive plans, trainings, and exercises; and collaboration and information sharing tools and techniques, as well as learning from experiences of emergency managers both within Virginia and across the nation.