If Europe is to cope with the growing frequency and greater impact of natural and man-made disasters, we will have to increase our resilience. The third Civil Protection Forum, held in Brussels on 25-26 November 2009, looked at how civil protection can contribute to enhancing society's resilience by bringing together disaster prevention, preparedness and response. It built on successful previous editions of the Forum in 2002 and 2007, which focused on types of disasters and disaster response respectively.
The Civil Protection Forum was designed to strengthen Europe's emergency management capacity, focusing on the prevention and preparedness phase of the emergency life cycle; develop the network between all civil protection actors and interested parties, including the private sector; increase the knowledge of new prevention, preparedness and response technologies available on the market; and raise public awareness.
The Forum provided an opportunity to discuss the governance of European disaster management. Establishing a comprehensive disaster management strategy would enable Europe to improve its resilience; to better protect its citizens both inside and outside Europe; and to become a stronger partner in the management of emergencies on the international scene. In addition, the role and involvement of citizens in preparing for disaster will be crucial if we are to establish a truly resilient society. The Commission will look at these areas in its future work on civil protection.
