Brussels: the 8th European Civil Protection Forum is now over
At the Department and INGV booth, attendees could experience a VR flight over Stromboli
The 8th European Civil Protection Forum, a biannual event organized by the European Commission's DG ECHO, was held on June 4 and 5. The Civil Protection Department actively participated in the event, setting up a booth with Ingv and participating in various panels with its representatives.
The theme of the 2024 edition was "Shaping a disaster-resilient Union: charting a path for the future of European civil protection." The goal was to review the achievements of the Union Civil Protection Mechanism (UCPM) over the past years, inspire its future development, and create opportunities for collaboration in the field of disaster risk management.
The Head of Department, Fabrizio Curcio, was one of the speakers at the high-level plenary session that opened the Forum. During this event, he received the European medal on behalf of the National Service for their contribution during the devastation caused by Cyclone Daniel in Derna, Libya, in September 2023.
This latest edition focused on new technologies. The Department and Ingv set up a booth featuring virtual reality used in the Visitor Center of Stromboli, Sicily. Attendees could use 3D viewers to embark on a virtual flight over the volcano and learn about the island's risks and good civil protection practices from the I don't take risks campaign.
The Department also joined with dedicated booths at the IPAFF European program entitled "Knowledge, tools and approaches for regional cooperation project" on seismic, flood and forest fire risk management in the Western Balkans and Turkey. Additionally, the Department was involved in the TRACENET European project, named "A virtual reality online collaborative framework to support training activity of UCPM," and the PROCULTHER project for protecting cultural heritage from disasters. The Italian Guardia di Finanza, part of the National Civil Protection Service, also had a booth dedicated to rescue operations in mountain and aquatic areas.
Finally, the Department hosted and moderated discussion panels on various topics, including Open Science and research data management as part of Disaster Risk Management; management of cultural heritage during emergencies; 10 years of the European Civil Protection Pool for natural disaster management support; climate, security, and future challenges of the Union Civil Protection Mechanism; and the alignment of disaster resilience goals and warning systems among member countries of the Mechanism.