NEEDS & ISSUES TO BE ADDRESSED EMERGED AS A RESULT OF COMMON WORK OF TWO PROJECTS, REVIEW IN MEETINGS WITH JOINT PARTICIPATION, UNDER THE FULL SUPPORT OF INTERREG IIIC EAST JOINT TECHNICAL SECRETARIAT IN VIENA

Reinforce information and communication activities to European citizens Increase information and knowledge on the existing risks in the territory and the overall functioning of the civil protection system to local people Promote a prevention culture among citizens, travellers and tourists, putting protection from disasters as high priority and indispensable right of all people Focus on young people and children as they represent the most important generation for laying the ground for such cultural and structural changes

Reinforce information and communication activities to European citizens (2) Create and promote a minimum common language, terminology and signs, that can help citizens who move from one territory to another to immediately understand what the basic concepts of Civil Protection are: e.g. (from left to right) Assembly point, Rest center, Limited access point.

Improve competencies and skills of civil protection professionals Identification of the right level and mix of competencies required for fulfilling difficult tasks in a complex system such as Civil Protection Invest more in training to increase the level, extension and diversification of competencies of civil protection professionals More uniform competencies and skills become also particularly relevant at European level, to achieve a more integrated system, where a common framework of knowledge is the key element for facilitating integration, mutual understanding and efficient cooperation

Extensive European cooperation To enable civil protection systems in Europe to efficiently cooperate in a deeper and more extensive way, an important element, confirmed throughout the project, is the necessity of bringing the various Civil Protection systems closer together: Creation of a methodological platform through which experiences, knowledge and best practices can be shared Further development and use of common models, procedures, language and standards to find common ground. This will be precious contribution to the construction of an integrated European civil protection system that can take concrete action and cooperate together in disaster situations, as the system is based on mutual cooperation, strength and solidarity

Integration of Technology to Civil Protection Systems In the continuous procedure to converge the various European civil protection systems technology can become the catalyst Commercial Solutions like mobile phones, GPS, GIS, free informatic tools can multiply the capabilities of civil protection authorities at low cost Convergence in technology and adoption of market available solutions can ease the common training and joint activities both among different civil protection agents at national and international level

Integration of Technology to Civil Protection Systems(2) Information and Communication Technologies can enhance the role of local communities in crisis respond saving time in most cases valuable for successful emergency management, especially in remote/ isolated areas Training of local people to ICT is vital for exploitation of the advantages they offer

Interoperability of Disaster Management Systems There is need for intensify efforts to achieve interoperability at political, organizational, field and technical levels for effective crisis management within and across responding organizations Efforts must focus on the operational conditions (field perspective) which is a hard task and involves –among others- people working in the field Creation of an ICT market for civil protection could provide tailor made solutions, yet respecting interoperability of disaster management systems

Protect Cultural Heritage from Natural Disasters The damage done to cultural heritage by natural disasters is underestimated and less attention is given to that element which is precious for strengthening European Identity Need for taking all necessary precautions for safeguarding cultural monuments from natural disasters with the cooperation of organizations like UNESCO, Ministries of Culture, Local authorities Training of people working on cultural field is of utmost importance for successful preservation of our heritage

Need for more joint exercises Joint exercises is a necessity if we want to increase European Capability to tackle efficiently major and cross border disasters Participation of foreign forces in an exercise in a country bust be considered essential from the phase of design to implementation and evaluation. Volunteer Organizations can teach us a lot

Protect Development in Disaster - Sensitive Areas In some cases (e.g. Mediterranean islands) the economic and social development is heavily depend on one economic activity (in most cases tourism). The relation between successful prevention and management of natural disasters and economic growth and social cohesion is usually neglected with disastrous results in some cases (Thasos island in Greece) Strong need to associate financial and other incentives provided to disaster sensitive areas with a minimum level of civil protection activities with the sense of “development insurance”

Create an interregional network of excellence among agents to contribute in civil protection field Dual role: Create operative bridges between different sectors, fields of research and activities that can all contribute in our common case: Secure Europe form natural and technological disasters Create a pool of competencies/ resources that will intervene efficiently and effectively, in addition and complementary to national forces

Proposals for Policy Paper/s on Civil Protection The absence of policy papers in a series of civil protection related fields does not help the case homogenization and interoperability of crisis management systems Many useful results have been achieved in various European Projects but they are not linked together and their exploitation is difficult wasting time and resources

Develop a European dimension of Civil Protection as a Culture of Prevention – Emphasise Civil Protection as a transversal topic – Encourage communication campaigns aimed at better informing the public about Civil Protection and focus on new generations – Engage all stakeholders that can help (governmental authorities, research institutes, volunteer and non governmental organizations, private sector, associations, local communities) – Link clearly and in quantifying terms civil protection with securing of development (jobs, income, perspectives), preservation of local identity (protection of culture, respecting visitors) and issues meaningful for local societies

Set up basic competencies of people working in Civil Protection Promote the development of specific competencies needed in Civil Protection by encouraging the development of new professional profiles mutually recognised in Europe (e.g. adequate competencies of people in charge of drawing up Civil Protection Plans, adequate communication skills, adequate skills in psychological first aid, etc) That aim can be achieved either by focusing on such issues e.g. in European programmes specifically dealing with Civil Protection or by promoting Civil Protection as a priority in other European programmes such as education, vocational training, research, etc

Create common platform enabling the development of common and basic standards Working towards: – Common language and terminology – Homogenization of procedures for getting foreign assistance in cases of major or cross border emergencies – Minimum standards for local/regional civil protection plans and involvement of local communities – Common Risk mapping methodology – Standardised visual/audio signs of Civil Protection – Creation of an ICT market for civil protection

Increase financial means for European cooperation and exchange activities in Civil Protection field – Linkage of development financing with measures for safeguarding progress against natural and technological disasters – Creation of Working Groups consisting of professionals and experts from different countries – Establishment of European think tanks for civil protection – Establishment of Joint Exercises involving professionals from different countries – Creation of Knowledge and good practices databases – Exploitation of results produced in the framework of European and national Initiatives

SIPROCI – RESCUE COMMITMENT Keep working together in civil protection ICT for Civil Protection common project approved – European Workshop mid of July in Ancona (Italy) THANK YOU FOR YOUR ATTENTION