Volunteerism in Civil Protection: Support Ukraine, Learn from Ukraine

Thirty experts from seven countries, including Ukraine, gathered for an online conference on volunteerism on 22 May 2024, to both support and learn from Ukrainian efforts. The conference was initiated by the Civil Protection Faculty project, which aims to integrate Baltic Sea Region civil protection training curricula into the education of Ukrainian civilians and first responders.

“We have long planned to get a better understanding of volunteer movements in the field of civil protection and invite experts from the Baltic Sea Region, which has a strong volunteering culture,” said a Ukrainian educator from the folk high school “Vovchok” involved in planning the conference. “We have also identified strong partners in Ukraine who are interested in developing volunteer movements there.”

One of these partners is the Ukrainian Firefighters Foundation (UFF), a successful charity fund that assists Ukrainian firefighters, rescuers, and sappers with equipment and transport, and is now expanding into capacity building and training. The partners of the Civil Protection Faculty have expressed their wish for the UFF to lead its working group on volunteerism, making it a sustainable vehicle for transferring the rich experience of volunteerism in the Baltic Sea Region to Ukraine, while also allowing European experts to learn from the recent experiences of Ukrainian fire and rescue services in coping with the challenges caused by the war.

In addition to the one on volunteerism, the Civil Protection Faculty project runs four more working groups: in emergency medicine, psychological support, demining, and assistance to first responders. Funded by the Swedish Institute, the project is scheduled to finish by the end of the year with a ready-to-use curriculum in these fields.

Ukrainian volunteers will also be invited to join the recently established Network of Volunteer Organisations and Authorities, which will help countries in the Baltic Sea Region exchange experiences in establishing and supporting volunteer movements. The CBSS facilitated the participation of relevant experts from Latvia, Finland, Sweden, Poland, Estonia, and Denmark in the conference.

The CBSS is a project partner of the Civil Protection Faculty project and is part of its active efforts to support Ukraine. The CBSS Secretariat is a partner in another capacity-building project, “Razom”, where Ukraine is represented by Lviv State University of Life Safety, the main educational facility of the State Emergency Services.