About the event
The 9th European Civil Protection Forum takes place on 3-4 November 2026 in Brussels, under the theme "Preparing today, ready for tomorrow".
The Forum is the flagship event of the European civil protection community. Held every two years, it brings together policymakers, civil protection authorities, first responders, practitioners, researchers and other key stakeholders from across Europe and beyond.
Join us to exchange knowledge, strengthen cooperation, and contribute to discussions on the future of European civil protection.
Programme overview
Each day opens with a high-level plenary session that sets the strategic direction for the discussions ahead. Breakout sessions follow, as panel discussions and interactive workshops on partnerships and financing, evolving risks and emerging threats, and research and innovation.
Alongside the sessions, there will be plenty of activities to explore: the first ever Speakers' Corner with snappy, engaging talks; the Civil Protection Village - both indoor and outdoor - with new solutions from Member States, Participating States, partners and the private sector; a dedicated Youth Agenda with 100 young participants from across Europe; and the EU Civil Protection Mechanism 25th anniversary celebration, with the UCPM medal ceremony, which honours long-standing commitment and extraordinary contributions to the UCPM.
Agenda: Tuesday, 3 November
08:00-9:30
Registration and welcome coffee
09:30-9:45
Opening remarks: Hadja Lahbib, European Commissioner for Equality, Preparedness and Crisis Management
09:45-10:45
High-level plenary session: A stronger Union through population preparedness
10:45-11:15
Coffee break
11:15-12:45
Parallel sessions
- Panel sessions
- Plenary Room (livestreamed): Session 1, Strengthening risk communication: addressing disinformation and building public trust
- Studio 1 (livestreamed): Session 2, The role of social partners in strengthening preparedness for workers and employers
- Studio 2 (livestreamed): Session 3, Advancing integrated wildfire risk management: governance and innovations
- Workshops
- Studio 3: Workshop 1, Strengthening civil-military cooperation: from national examples to EU support
- Studio 4: Workshop 2, Bridging the AI gap: From innovation to operational use in civil protection
- Live activities and demonstrations
- CP Village: Demonstrations and games
- Panel sessions
12:45-14:30
Networking lunch
- Side events
- Speakers' Corner (see separate schedule)
- Community and engagement
UCPM Foosball Championship
- Side events
14:30–16:00
Parallel sessions
- Panel sessions
- Plenary Room (livestreamed): Session 4, Operationalising preparedness and resilience: insights from Ukraine
- Studio 1 (livestreamed): Session 5, Scaling local civil protection through city networks and EU partnerships
- Studio 2 (livestreamed): Session 6, Advancing integrated all-hazards approaches across Climate Change Adaption and Disaster Risk Reduction governance
- Workshops
- Studio 3: Workshop 3, Science in action: UCPM scientific partnerships for preparedness and response
- Studio 4: Workshop 4, Volunteers on the ground: effective and safe volunteering in civil protection
- Side events
- Speakers' Corner (see separate schedule)
- Live activities and demonstrations
- CP Village: Demonstrations and games
- Panel sessions
16:00–16:30
Coffee break
16:30–18:00
Parallel sessions
- Panel sessions
- Plenary Room (livestreamed): Session 7, Launch of the EU Public Private Preparedness Task Force: essential Goods
- Studio 1 (livestreamed): Session 8, Turning Medevac operations in Europe into resilient capacity
- Studio 2 (livestreamed): Session 9, Preparedness education in schools
- Workshops
- Studio 3: Workshop 5, From risk assessment to preparedness: connecting perspectives
- Studio 4: Workshop 6, Preparedness starts with people: embedding mental health and psychological support
- Live activities and demonstrations
- CP Village: Demonstrations and games
- Panel sessions
18:00–18:15
Break
18:15–18:45
Celebrating the 25th anniversary of the EU Civil Protection Mechanism and the UCPM Medal Ceremony
19:00–22:00
Networking dinner and concert
Agenda: Wednesday, 4 November
08:00–09:00
Registration and welcome coffee
09:00–09:45
Stories from 25 years of the EU Civil Protection Mechanism
09:45–10:45
High-level plenary session: The path from civil protection to cross-sectoral coordination in crisis management: a paradigm shift?
10:45–11:15
Coffee break
11:15–12:45
Parallel sessions
- Panel sessions
- Plenary Room (livestreamed): Session 10, From forecast to action: innovative early warning systems for civil protection
- Studio 1 (livestreamed): Session 11, Key aspects of civil protection plans and local activation for new flood scenarios
- Studio 2 (livestreamed): Session 12, Innovations for crisis management: bringing drones and ground robots into action
- Workshops
- Studio 3: Workshop 7, Institutionalising youth engagement in disaster preparedness and response
- Studio 4: Workshop 8, Strengthening host nation support across Europe: from guidelines to action
- Live activities and demonstrations
- CP Village: Demonstrations and games
- Panel sessions
12:45–14:30
Networking lunch
- Side events
- Speakers' Corner (see separate schedule)
- Community and engagement
- UCPM Foosball Championship
- Side events
14:30–16:00
Parallel sessions
- Panel sessions
- Plenary Room (livestreamed): Session 13, Safety skills belong to everybody: inclusive civil protection is the future
- Studio 1 (livestreamed): Session 14, Medical Countermeasures: from preparedness to response
- Studio 2 (livestreamed): Session 15 (TBC)
- Workshops
- Studio 3: Workshop 9, Establishing capability targets for disaster resilience over the next decade
- Studio 4: Workshop 10, Citizens and civil society in war time
- Live activities and demonstrations
- CP Village: Demonstrations and games
- Panel sessions
16:00–16:15
UCPM Foosball Championship Award Ceremony
16:15–16:30
Closing remarks: Hadja Lahbib, European Commissioner for Equality, Preparedness and Crisis Management
Download the draft agenda (PDF)
Draft Agenda CPF 2026.pdf
(575.31 KB - PDF)Sessions and speakers
Detailed information about the sessions and speakers.
Side Events
Youth Agenda
The Forum's Youth Agenda brings together young professionals, volunteers, researchers and civil society actors to exchange experiences and contribute to wider policy discussions on European civil protection and preparedness. Building on previous youth engagement initiatives, delegates take part in dedicated activities alongside the main programme, with outcomes captured in the CPF Youth Report and future opportunities for engagement.
Speakers' Corner
Meet the voices shaping civil protection: featured for the first time at the Forum, the Speakers’ Corner is an opportunity to engage with experts and community members who present their work and share insights on European civil protection. Through a series of talks, participants will discover a range of projects, initiatives and experiences from across Europe. The programme will feature new voices like Kimy Brehme, who will talk about their experience at the Citizens' Panel on Preparedness, bringing citizens’ perspectives into the discussion. Join us during the lunch breaks and in the afternoons to connect with the community.
Live Activities & Exhibitions
Civil Protection Village
A central part of the Forum experience, the Civil Protection Village brings together EU Member States, UCPM Participating States, partners, EU-funded projects and the private sector to showcase innovative solutions in disaster risk management from across Europe and beyond. The Civil Protection Village comprises 50 stands representing almost 60 organisations and offers a dedicated space for sharing knowledge on key policy and operational issues, helping to shape future work on preparedness and civil protection. Here you can meet civil protection practitioners, legislators, researchers and experts, and see first-hand the state-of-art projects they are developing.
Demonstrations
The walking street leading to the Civil Protection Village hosts seven live outdoor demonstrations. During the two days of the forum, NGOs, the private sector and UCPM Participating States showcase equipment, techniques and innovative solutions used in disaster response and preparedness. Participants will have the opportunity to walk through a Community Preparedness Village, discover how deployable communication network systems and rapid deployment hospitals work during an emergency, and see how a vehicle from a rescEU fleet supervises civil and military exercises in the field using Extended Reality (XR) technologies.
Serious Games Corner
Try your hand at interactive games and simulations exploring civil protection themes, from risk-based decision-making and wildfire preparedness to heritage-led resilience planning. Hands-on activities also cover AI-supported emergency exercises and psychological first aid, giving participants a practical, engaging way to experience the challenges of disaster preparedness and response.
Community & Engagement
UCPM Foosball Championship 2026
The UCPM Foosball Championship 2026 gives representatives of UCPM Member and Participating States a chance to get to know each other and to build unity and collaboration across our civil protection network. As in 2024, on the first day, each team plays three matches against the other teams in its group. On the second day, the 16 best teams compete in a play-off phase to decide the winning team of the UPMF Foosball Championship. Come to support your team!
CPF Social Media Ambassadors
The CPF Social Media Ambassadors campaign helps foster engagement, and raise awareness for the event on social media, enlisting influential civil protection practitioners.
Art Installation
Immerse yourself in "Tales from the Receding Edge", an interactive digital art installation created by artist Calin Segal that visualises coastal erosion and climate change. The installation uses climate and marine real-time data from Copernicus and MEDCORDEX to show how coastlines change, shrink, and reshape over time.
Past editions
The 8th European Civil Protection Forum took place in Brussels on 4-5 June 2024.
The 7th European Civil Protection Forum took place in Brussels on 28-29 June 2022.
6th edition of the Civil Protection Forum, organised by the European Commission on 5 and 6 March 2018 in Brussels.
5th edition of the Civil Protection Forum, organised by the European Commission on 6 and 7 May 2015 in Brussels.