From NEEDS to Policy Recommendations – NEEDS Transnational Partnership Meeting in Warsaw
NEEDS project’s partners were hosted by the Main School of Fire Services (MSFS) in Warsaw, for a transnational partnership meeting on 5-6 June 2023. The meeting marked a significant milestone as the project approaches its completion, bringing together project partners to review the work accomplished and formulate crucial Policy Recommendations.
While the Main School of Fire Services Academy in Warsaw, Poland, served as the host venue for the pivotal meeting of the NEEDS project’s partners, the meeting was led by the Council of the Baltic Sea States (CBSS), the lead partner of the NEEDS project.
The objectives of the transnational partnership meeting were to summarise the extensive input received throughout the project’s duration into comprehensive policy recommendations, contributing to the enhancement of societal security education across the Baltic Sea Region (BSR), fostering collaboration, and strengthening resilience across national borders.
During the meeting, participants conducted comprehensive reviews and held workshops to provide updates on the project’s progress over the years. The primary focus was on discussing the Policy Recommendations that emerged from the collective input of experts, practitioners, teachers, and students in the field. Drawing from the wealth of experience and insights accumulated during the project’s nearly three-year duration, the consortium formulated recommendations in order to present them at the CBSS Civil Protection Network’s Directors General Meeting taking place on 20-21 June 2023 in Hamburg.
NEEDS project’s Policy Recommendations:
After careful research, project implementation and analysis of project results the following actions are strongly recommended for application in the respective CPN countries across the Baltic Sea Region:
- Initiate more, regular international opportunities for Higher Education Institutions (HEI) & practitioners to get together.
- Promote the NEEDS Online Course and Community and encourage staff to complete the course and join the community.
- With the aim to initiate the establishment of security themed school curricula, conduct policy dialogues with Educational Ministries and other relevant stakeholders in respective countries.
- Acknowledge the need for a common online platform for societal security education and collaboration and initiate an interagency discussion on a suitable platform.
- Designate resources (people, funding, internship opportunities) and provide educational opportunities in the respective agencies to create a basis for common BSR education on societal security.
The NEEDS project addresses the skills gap and mismatch between the societal security education and the concrete knowledge needs in the field. It also seeks to promote transnational cooperation and dialogue between higher education institutes, practitioners and experts dealing with societal security.
For more information about the NEEDS project, visit the NEEDS project’s page.
Photos: Main School of Fire Services Academy in Warsaw