Get Ready for National Drone Safety Awareness Week 2020
National Drone Safety Awareness Week — aka drone safety week or simply drone week — is not only back for year two but is also officially an annual campaign. Hosted by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), this campaign highlights drone safety using special events and social media. During this week, the FAA promotes “the safety stories, successes, events, and educational content” of people in the drone community.
Last year’s inaugural drone safety week took place November 4-10, 2019. Using the tag #DroneWeek, recreational fliers, government agencies, and industry leaders took to Twitter and other social media to show their support for spreading drone safety awareness. The FAA described it as “a huge success," which led to them making it a permanent fixture on our drone event calendars. National Drone Safety Awareness Week 2020 will be November 16-22. The campaign is open for everyone to participate in and will be entirely virtual this year due to the pandemic.
Information, resources, and downloadables for the campaign are available on their web page and in their 2020 Guidebook. The guidebook summarizes the daily themes, the purpose of drone safety week, how to participate, and holding virtual events supporting drone safety. Last year, each day had a daily focus. This year, they assigned educational themes to each day: Learn (Monday), Improve (Tuesday), Passion to Profession (Wednesday), Start a Program (Thursday), In the Classroom (Friday), and Having Fun (Saturday & Sunday). Using social media, the FAA plans to share participants’ digital content related to these themes.
When we covered drone safety week last year, the FAA had partnered with Know Before You Fly and the Unmanned Aircraft Safety Team (UAST), and their partnership will continue this year. Founded by the Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems International (AUVSI) and the Academy of Model Aeronautics (AMA), Know Before You Fly is an educational campaign that focuses on drone and model aircraft safety. Their website offers guides on how and where to fly, event information, and drone safety resources.
Credit: Federal Aviation Administration
The UAST is an “industry-government partnership” that collaborates with UAS industry members and links users to helpful resources. Using data-driven safety enhancements, they aim to ensure that UAS are operated safely in the national airspace system. This year, they are helping the FAA keep track of virtual events on the official drone safety awareness week website. On the website, you can view the event calendar, access in-depth instructions on setting up a drone safety event, and register your event with the campaign.
Tyesha Ferron is a writer based in Atlanta, Georgia. Specializing in digital content, Tyesha loves exploring the new ways technology intersects with culture and how drones make things more efficient and accessible for artists, hobbyists, and industry professionals. As a novice drone enthusiast, she continues to be impressed by what the drone community and industry can accomplish.
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