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Outcomes of the 6th Disaster Risk Management Knowledge Centre Annual Seminar

This year’s annual seminar marked the end of the first full year of activity of the Union Civil Protection Knowledge Network. It was co-organized with DG ECHO and the French Ministry of Interior and took place in Paris on 22-23 November. 98 participants from 22 EU and non-EU Countries attended in presence,, plus remote participants via WebEx and followers of the web-streaming. Here is a brief summary of what was discussed.

date:  12/12/2022

The aim of this year’s seminar was to look back at our achievements in developing with the DRM community the building blocks of the Science Pillar of the Knowledge Network of the Union Civil Protection Mechanism, established in December 2021. The event also aimed at brainstorming on the action plan of the Science Pillar for 2023.

The first full year of activity of the Union Civil Protection Knowledge Network was presented and celebrated. Achievements of 2022 and challenges still standing were discussed, especially regarding the Science Pillar of the Knowledge Network. The participants were engaged in lively discussions throughout the 4 sessions of the seminar, organized around the narrative “GAPS-PROCESS-SOLUTIONS-COMMUNICATION of scientific knowledge for DRM”.

Thanks to distinguished speakers and moderators, we touched upon the main topics highlighted as priorities in the conclusions of last year’s DRMKC Annual Seminar:

  • Challenges of dealing with complex situations while orienting the national and international research agendas and providing advice to policy makers
  • DRM-climate change nexus, with specific attention to risk assessment methodologies and new processes of trans-boundary scenario building and of the Union Disaster Resilience Goals
  • Social dimension of DRM and specifically of the risk communication

The Plan of Action of the Science Pillar foresees two phases. Athe first one in which the integration and consolidation of the knowledge/services already available in the DRMKC should take place; And a second phase for the identification and integration of other relevant scientific activities, benefiting from the expertise and knowledge available in the Member/Participating States.

The end of 2022 marks the transition from phase one to phase two, in which a greater engagement of the scientific community of the Member/Participating States and beyond is expected. Judging the Seminar exchanges, as well as from the follow up messages received by the DRMKC in the following days, with various proposal collaborations from Member/Participating States and academia, it seems that the Seminar served the purpose of the expected transition.


The draft 6th DRMKC Annual Seminar report is available on the DRMKC website.


You can access the recordings on our website and download the slides presented by some of our panelists.