Scaling up disaster risk reduction in civil protection and healthcare

 14:15 - 15:15 CET
 25 November 2021
 EFDRR Virtual Platform
 Virtual

The devastating impacts of COVID-19 around the world illustrate that the nature and scale of disaster risk has changed. Extending beyond individual sectors, the diverse effects have cascaded into unprecedented socio-economic implications. While disasters complexity and uncertainty are continuously growing, disaster risks are increasingly challenging and ambitious problem to deal with, knowledge, collaboration and stronger anticipation culture would strengthen the EU’s resilience and contribute to smart, sustainable and inclusive growth. 

Preparing for and responding to disasters, needs knowledge of risks, well-oiled collaboration and a multi-skilled approach. The EU's civil protection policy enjoys strong public support as one of the very practical facets of the EU solidarity, extended to people affected by any kind of disaster — in Europe and globally. Building on this a growing number of European Services are collaborating to reinforce the links between the different policies relating to disaster risk reduction (DRR) and disaster risk management (DRM).  Via the Union Civil Protection Knowledge Network, the EU is developing a new platform for sharing knowledge, best practices and lessons learned by civil protection experts and emergency management personnel. Through the Knowledge Network, the EU intends to strengthen its European Disaster Risk Management. 

Covid-19 pandemic showed that training, research and innovation, as well as close cooperation between national civil protection authorities, universities and researchers are essential elements for thorough prevention and preparedness activities across Europe. Solutions needed to respond to disasters including health related disasters such as Covid-19 need inclusive and strengthened institutions across all sectors, from health and civil protection to labor market institutions, research centers, that can understand risks, prevent and respond in a coordinated manner.  

Speakers

Moderator

Christian Resch
Managing Director, Disaster Competence Network Austria 

Dilanthi Amaratunga 
Professor of Disaster Risk Reduction and Management, University of Huddersfield, United Kingdom

Keynote speaker

Richard Haigh
Co-Director, Global Disaster Resilience Centre, University of Huddersfield, United Kingdom

Panelists

Felix Bloch
Head of Unit for “Knowledge Network and Evidence-Based Policy”, DG ECHO, European Commission

Barbara Hinterstoisser
Professor, Institute of Physics and Materials Science, University of Life Sciences and Natural Resources, Austria

Mirnesa Softic
Head of Operational Communication Centre, Ministry of Security, Bosnia and Herzegovina

Hannes Kern
Austrian Fire Brigade Association, Austria
 

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