On 19 March, civil protection and disaster risk management national authorities from 11 UCPM countries gathered in Brussels for the launch of the 13 selected projects co-funded by the Union Civil Protection Mechanism (UCPM) under the Track-1 2025 call for proposals.

“Cultural heritage is increasingly being weaponised — which makes its protection more urgent than ever.” As Katariina Leinonen from the European External Action Service (EEAS) noted at the opening of the event, the protection of cultural heritage is no longer a peripheral concern at international level. It is also becoming a strategic issue, linked to diplomacy, security and recovery.

Over the weekend of 20-22 March, 147 citizens from all EU Member States gathered in Brussels for the first session of the European Citizens’ Panel on Preparedness. The discussions highlighted a clear message: resilience across the EU must be built with citizens at its core.

The 9th European Civil Protection Forum will take place on 3–4 November 2026 in Brussels (Tour & Taxis), bringing together stakeholders from across the disaster risk management community to shape the future of preparedness in Europe. The call for session proposals for the upcoming edition is now open!

The quarterly UCPKN Newsletter is full of UCPM-related news, updates from the Community and information on upcoming events, learning opportunities and new resources in the field of civil protection and disaster risk management.

A new eLearning course, "Introduction to Artificial Intelligence in Disaster Risk Management (DRM)" is now available on the EU Academy platform.

The Knowledge Network Capacity Development pillar aims to connect, promote and strengthen capacity development initiatives relevant to civil protection and disaster management.

Through the Knowledge Network, the scientific community and operational stakeholders in disaster management have a new space to connect and share knowledge.

The exercise programme of the Knowledge Network offers a variety of civil protection exercises to enhance prevention, preparedness and disaster response.

Preparedness for Operational Monitoring and Prediction of contaminant Transport in the Sea.

Training Centre Network on 3D and VR.

Managing Complex Floods in North Albania through Cross Border Host Nation Support and Joint Cooperation.