Group Photo
The course was held in Bucharest, Romania from 18 to 21 July 2023, with active participation and excellent outcomes. The aim of the course was to harness shared perspectives and a shared vision of disaster relief as part of the whole chain of disaster management, including the development of critical capabilities and situational awareness in relation to tackling emergency situations. The course focused on planning and execution at strategic, operational and tactical levels, as well as on disaster relief and post-disaster reconstruction, civil protection and humanitarian assistance missions/operations in relation to natural, man-made and climate-driven disasters in the wider CFSP/CSDP context. Field practitioners shared their experience in disaster relief operations from diplomatic and military perspectives.
Dr Raed Arafat, State Secretary, Head of the Department of Emergency Situations, Ministry of Internal Affairs, Romania, lecturing on the importance of international collaboration and civil – military cooperation in emergencies
On the first day of the course, participants learnt about the EU-wide strategic framework of the CSDP in the context of Euro-Atlantic evolutions, the EU’s integrated approach to disaster management and EU support for third countries, with a focus on the Eastern Partnership countries. The second day featured briefings on strategic communications in disaster relief, natural disasters in the context of global security, resilience building, the military role in EU disaster relief, the relevant education and training, and the role of the EU as an international humanitarian assistance / relief actor. The third day of the course gave participants the opportunity to discuss the role of NGOs in disaster relief, the cooperation and synergies between emergency situations and public order systems for impact management in disaster relief situations and also to participate in the exercise / study visit concerning emergency management in disaster relief. The course concluded with briefings on the use of modeling and simulation to support decision makers and the role and structure of the emergency system, the importance of international collaboration and civil – military cooperation in emergency situations.
Exercise / study visit concerning emergency management in disaster relief
We would like to thank all of the keynote speakers for their excellent contributions and input. The content of the presentations and the highly relevant topics triggered thought-provoking and rewarding discussions between the participants and the experts. We would also like to thank all 41 participants for their trust in the ESDC. We will do our utmost to continue to provide high-quality training.
