Civil Protection: online the textbook for teachers

The book "Civil Protection in Italy" is online on the institutional websites of the Civil Protection Department and the Ministry of Education (MI). The volume, edited by the Department in agreement with the Ministry of Education, was created following the approval of Law 92 of 2019 which, starting from next school year, introduces civic education as one of the teaching subjects, in which civil protection will also be discussed.

The text represents a subsidy for the planning of teaching activities, it is opened by the preface of the Prime Minister, Giuseppe Conte, of the Minister of Education, Lucia Azzolina, and by the introduction of the Head of the Civil Protection Department, Angelo Borrelli, and covers a wide range of topics, from historical to scientific, from social to regulatory issues. Teachers, also through pictures, photos, tables, links and school bibliographical references, will have the opportunity to enrich the educational offer and to deepen the different areas of attention of the National Civil Protection Service. The text will be progressively integrated - again online - with special dossiers, in which the latest news on risk forecasting and prevention and the lessons learned from new emergency experiences, such as the most recent one due to the Covid-19 epidemic, will be presented.

"Civil Protection in Italy" is divided into nine chapters. After an overview of the competences and activities of the Civil Protection service, it moves on to a representation of the fragility of the Italian territory with respect to the different risks. A description of the evolution of the legislation through the calamitous events that have affected Italy, up to the legislation currently in force, follows. Then, a section dedicated to the organisation of the civil protection system, the description of the risks affecting our territory and the activities of the cycle of management of these risks. The text then deepens the relationship with international civil protection bodies and illustrates some of the interventions carried out by the civil protection system in Italy and abroad. The last part is dedicated to the fundamental role of citizens, both as individuals and members of voluntary civil protection associations. At the end of the volume there is a glossary, a reference sitography and a framework of the main normative elements.

"With the new school year, from September, the compulsory teaching of civic education will come into force in all schools. It will be a transversal discipline to all the others and will allow students of all ages to know and deepen their knowledge of the risks affecting our country and the great work of prevention and containment entrusted to the National Civil Protection Service - underlines Minister Azzolina -. This text therefore offers an important, authoritative aid for teachers in schools of all levels who have to plan new educational programs of civic education. It is intended to help with the planning, but also to offer suggestions for further study and contents to expand the educational offer. We must give our children the tools to become active and responsible citizens".

"This volume is a fundamental element for the strengthening of the culture of civil protection in our country - these are the words of the Head of Department Borrelli - and thanks to the successful collaboration with the Ministry of Education, our teachers now have at their disposal a valuable tool for the dissemination of knowledge. Thanks to citizens aware of the risks we can face the challenges of civil protection that we are facing, and it is essential that schools are the focus of their training in this area too".