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.

The DRMKC organized a side event at the COP27 as a joint effort between scientists, practitioners and policy makers from the participating organizations to build the evidence base to inform future action on disaster risks.

Together with the Statement on ‘Values in times of crisis’ produced by the European Group on Ethics in Science and New Technologies, this opinion have been handed over in the European Parliament to Commissioners Gabriel and Lenarčič.

To guide and inform about the Union’s efforts to ensure the timely availability and accessibility of medical countermeasures, HERA identified a priority list of three categories of serious cross-border health threats, those being (1) pathogens with high pandemic potential, (2) chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear threats, and (3) threats resulting from antimicrobial resistance.

The 2022 State of Health Preparedness report is the first of its kind. The report highlights the progress made in the fields of preparedness and response since the start of the COVID-19 (coronavirus) pandemic, focusing in particular on medical countermeasures.

The inventory of crisis management capabilities aims to be used as an operational tool toquickly identifyand mobilise of available mechanisms, tools and instruments in a particular crisis situation. Moreover, it can be used as a reference tool to support the EU’s crisis management preparedness and response infrastructure and identify its gaps.

The CEMS Aerial Component delivers centimetre-resolution images and digital surface models in its first activation, contributing to analysing the impact of a landslide in Ischia, Italy.

The Global Human Settlement Layer team kicks off a project to forecast the future spatial growth of human settlements and its population.

EU-funded research underpins global climate assessments & plays a key role in building effective strategies for addressing the climate crisis. A recent publication from DG Research & Innovation showcases projects on different aspects of climate adaptation.

The climate crisis is also an impending health emergency. The European Climate and Health Observatory aims to support Europe in preparing for and adapting to the impacts of climate change on human health by providing access to relevant information and tools.

The CERIS Disaster Resilience Societies (DRS) State of Play event on 7-10 November has been very successful and proved to be as effective as ever regarding networking and project synergy-building.

Working with the Disaster Risk Management Knowledge Centre (DRMKC) and the Cooperation Network for Risk, Safety & Security Studies (CONRIS Network), the Department for Disaster and Emergency Management at Coventry University, UK, has completed the second Disaster Risk Management Training online series 2022. The event has attracted 218 registers, including 113 academics from 26 universities: 40 officials from the public sectors, and 53 participants from NGOs and other international disaster management agencies.

Learning opportunities from the DRM community