The Global Amateur Radio Emergency Communications Conference or GAREC is a yearly conference held by the International Amateur Radio Union

International Amateur Radio Union

The International Amateur Radio Union is an international confederation of national amateur radio organisations that allows a forum for common matters of concern and collectively represents matters to the International Telecommunication Union...

 for discussion of amateur radio

Amateur radio

Amateur radio is the use of designated radio frequency spectrum for purposes of private recreation, non-commercial exchange of messages, wireless experimentation, self-training, and emergency communication...

 operation during natural disaster

Natural disaster

A natural disaster is the effect of a natural hazard . It leads to financial, environmental or human losses...

s and other emergencies

Emergency

An emergency is a situation that poses an immediate risk to health, life, property or environment. Most emergencies require urgent intervention to prevent a worsening of the situation, although in some situations, mitigation may not be possible and agencies may only be able to offer palliative...

 with the motto, "Saving lives through emergency communications". GAREC was first held in Tampere, Finland in 2005, coinciding with the adoption of the Tampere Convention

Tampere Convention

The Tampere Convention is a multilateral treaty governing the provision and availability of communications equipment during disaster relief operations, particularly as regards the transport of radio and related equipment over international boundaries by...

, a globally binding emergency communications treaty that had been signed in Tampere in 1998. In later conferences, the venue has attempted to rotate in sequence through ITU Regions 1, 2 and 3

Subsequent conferences

Year	Location	Dates	Notes
GAREC-2006	Tampere, Finland	19-20 June	Held in conjunction with the International Conference on Emergency Communications, ICEC-2006, which reviewed the status of implementation and application of the Tampere Convention.
GAREC-2007	Huntsville, Alabama Huntsville, Alabama Huntsville is a city located primarily in Madison County in the central part of the far northern region of the U.S. state of Alabama. Huntsville is the county seat of Madison County. The city extends west into neighboring Limestone County. Huntsville's population was 180,105 as of the 2010 Census....	16–17 August	Held in conjunction with the Huntsville Hamfest Hamfest A Hamfest is a convention of amateur radio enthusiasts, often combining a trade show, flea market, and various other activities of interest to amateur radio operators . In the United Kingdom the term rally is more commonly used for amateur radio conventions...  and the ARRL's yearly convention.
GAREC-2008	Friedrichshafen, Germany	26–27 June	Held in conjunction with the 33rd annual HamRadio exhibition.
GAREC-2009	Tokyo, Japan	24–25 August	Held in conjunction with the Japan Amateur Radio League Japan Amateur Radio League The Japan Amateur Radio League is a national non-profit organization for amateur radio enthusiasts in Japan. JARL was founded in 1926 by Japanese radio communication enthusiasts whose stated aim was to promote the development and utilization of radio wave technology as a medium... 's JARL Ham Fair.
GAREC-2010	Willemstad, Curaçao Curaçao Curaçao is an island in the southern Caribbean Sea, off the Venezuelan coast. The Country of Curaçao , which includes the main island plus the small, uninhabited island of Klein Curaçao , is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands... , Netherlands Antilles Netherlands Antilles The Netherlands Antilles , also referred to informally as the Dutch Antilles, was an autonomous Caribbean country within the Kingdom of the Netherlands, consisting of two groups of islands in the Lesser Antilles: Aruba, Bonaire and Curaçao , in Leeward Antilles just off the Venezuelan coast; and Sint... .	11–12 October
GAREC-2011	Sun City, South Africa	15–19 August	Will be held as part of the IARU Region 1 Conference.