International Drone Day kicked off in 2014 and is still going strong. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), whose mission is to provide the safest, most efficient aerospace system in the world, is expanding on this concept with the first-ever National Drone Safety Awareness Week. Taking place November 4th – 10th, the aim is to educate the public about drone safety while involving them in the process.
Everyone is encouraged to share their safety stories and introduce new initiatives. By sharing successes, organizing live events, and offering up educational programs, the FAA hopes that public participation in National Drone Safety Awareness Week will continue the advancement of public-private partnerships and collaboration. Drones are safe and effective for solving real-world problems. The number of practical applications for their use continues to increase each day. As a result, this is how the FAA will focus on targeted audiences throughout the week:
Focus Areas
? Monday: Public Safety and Security
- Highlight how public safety agencies are using drones to make our communities safer.
- Emphasize how drones save lives.
? Tuesday: Business ? Photography, Real Estate, Insurance
- Highlight how drone photography is helping small business owners, like photographers and real estate agents.
- Highlight how drones are helping the insurance industry assess damage.
? Wednesday: Business ? Infrastructure and Agriculture
- Drones are helping inspect infrastructure, like railway tracks, power lines, and pipelines.
- Drones remove the human risk in hazardous jobs. Drones are helping monitor and track agriculture.
? Thursday: Business ? Commercial and Medical Package Delivery
- The next package you receive may come via drone!
- Highlight current partnerships the FAA has with organizations or industry to tackle numerous operational concepts.
? Friday: Education and STEM
- Focus on educational events and inspiring students to study science, technology, engineering and math (STEM).
? Saturday and Sunday: Recreational Flyers
- Drones can be used for fun, too! Highlight model aircraft and community-based organizations. Share recreational best practices.
The FAA wants the public to reach out to them along with the Department of Transportation (DOT), elected officials, local leaders, and industry stakeholders who can help cross-promote their messages and initiatives. They’re also encouraging participants to contact influencers within the industry and ask them to share content, engage with local media, tag social updates on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn with #DroneWeek, and email shareable content directly to SocialMedia@faa.gov.
Getting started is easy. The Stakeholder Playbook provides ideas and inspiration for getting involved, the Voluntary Tracking Tool (VTT) on the Unmanned Aircraft Safety Team (UAST) website lets you to log your planned events, and National Drone Safety Awareness Week graphics allows you to download and easily apply them to your promotional materials. For any questions or additional information, visit faa.gov/go/DroneWeek or email DroneSafetyWeek@faa.gov.