Civil Protection Department

PPRD South: a meeting on volunteers and civil protection

The meeting "Working with volunteers in civil protection" is held in Rome from 23 to 25 April. It is organized by the Euromed programme PPRD South and by the Civil Protection Department and aims at developing and strenghtening the voluntary work of civil protection in the Euro-mediterranean area.

Civil servants of civil protection and defence and representatives of volutary work associations from Germany, Jordan, Morocco Palestine, Slovenia, Sweden, Tunisia and the National Service took part to the event, which was organized in the operating premises of the Civil Protection Department.

In European countries, voluntary work is regulated by well-established politics; in southern mediterranean countries instead, it is still only a spontaneous phenomenon, often the result of religious, family or community affiliations.

The debate focused on the role of national authorities in managing disasters and the one that volunteers can carry out during emergencies through cooperation, coordination and aid.

On 25 April, the study group will carry on the works in Monterosso, in Liguria, for a survey of the areas hit by the flooding of October 2011 and for a meeting with local authorities and representatives of volunteers at work in those areas. During the day, the team of experts will observe also the simulation exercise organized by Ana in Monterosso.

By easing the exchange of experiences among different geographical and cultural realities, the event aims at giving a response to key-questions about the development of voluntary work and integration of national systems of civil protection.