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Artificial Intelligence for Disaster Risk Management - EU Workshop

By Knowledge Network – Staff member

An EU workshop to present the state of the art in Artificial Intelligence & Machine Learning and discuss what the future holds for them in DRM.

Workshop

Key information

Date(s)
-
Location
Brussels, Belgium
Attendance type
Hybrid
Organiser

Description

The European Commission (DG ECHO) is hosting a series of knowledge events under the UCPM Knowledge Series designed to connect practitioners from across the EU and beyond to drive innovation within the Union Civil Protection Mechanism (UCPM). The events will take place as part of the Union Civil Protection Knowledge Network and its DRM Science and Planning Working Group. 

Leveraging scientific and technical partnerships inside and outside the Commission, the UCP Knowledge Network will develop a number of knowledge products (including workshops, webinars, video interviews, and knowledge notes) centred around strategic themes for the European civil protection community, such as: multi-hazard approach to disaster risk management; behavioural insights for whole-of-society preparedness; artificial intelligence & machine learning; open science & open data; and climate resilience. The autumn calendar of the Knowledge Series can be found here.

Artificial Intelligence & Machine Learning (AI & ML) have the possibility to become true force multipliers for the UCPM and disaster risk management once fully realised. Tapping into their potential opens possibilities to enhance our understanding of natural disasters and improve the level of preparedness in Member and Participating States and the Union as a whole, for example in early warning systems or forecasting. However, AI & ML are not yet part of the modus operandi in DRM.

Within the European Commission, the European AI Office is the centre of AI expertise across the EU. It plays a key role in implementing the AI Act and fostering the development and use of trustworthy AI. Its remit includes international cooperation agreements (such as AI for Public Good) and AI-based solutions for international development to strengthen European Union capabilities for disaster management.

Based on this premise, the objectives of this workshop were to:

  1. Present the state of the art in Artificial Intelligence & Machine Learning (AI & ML) initiatives from the EU side that are particularly relevant for disaster risk management; and
  2. Discuss what does the future hold and what is needed to make the most of these technologies to advance the disaster risk management agenda.

The panel sessions were enriched by the fruitful cooperation with colleagues from DGs CNECT and JRC as well as external speakers from the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) and from Horizon Europea and DG ECHO-funded projects MedEWSA and MEDEA

The workshop was attended by over 50 colleagues in person from various European Commission services, such as DGs CNECT, CLIMA, ECHO, HOME, INTPA, JRC, and RTD, as well as external participants. Additionally, 100 persons joined the first part of the workshop online to watch the livestream of the panel sessions.

 

Recording, Pictures and Report

The recording of the first part of the workshop (9.00-11.30) is available at https://europa.eu/!xwYKHd. The presentations of the speakers are available as PDF below. Pictures from the workshop are available on the UCPKN Flickr. The workshop report (prepared with support from GPT@JRC) is available below and here.

 

Resources

In addition to the slides shared by the speakers during the workshop, several resources are available from the European Commission and beyond to enhance and share knowledge on the role and application of AI and ML for DRM. A selection of these resources is presented below:

 

Personal Data Protection

The European Commission is committed to personal data protection. The Directorate-General for the European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations (DG ECHO) is processing your personal data under Regulation (EU) 2018/1725 for the purpose of this AI workshop, as detailed in the model privacy statement DPR-EC-01063.1. Should you wish to exercise your right (e.g., to remove a picture of yourself), please contact ECHO-CP-KNOWLEDGE-NETWORK@ec.europa.eu.

(Cover picture generated with the Adobe Firefly AI.)

Agenda

9:00 - 9:15

Welcoming Coffee

9:15 - 9:30

Opening of the workshop

By Director Hanna Jahns (DG ECHO.B Strategy and Policy)
9:30 - 11:00

What is the state of the art?

Panel 1 - Building the framework: The formal landscape & key initiatives
- The European AI Office
- UN Focus Group on AI for Natural Disaster Management
- Destination Earth digital twin

Panel 2 - Integrating AI & ML into action: Examples of use cases
- AI and ML tools for Disaster Risk Management
- MedEWSA Horizon Europe project
- MEDEA Prevention and Preparedness project

- Commentary from the ERCC Analytical Team
Moderators
11:00 - 11:30

Coffee Break

11:30 - 12:45

What does the future hold? (in-presence only)

Breakout groups discuss and draft follow-up recommendations, such as on the questions of "How can the Commission best harness the potential of AI & ML in DRM?" and "What are the expected pitfalls/challenges we should be aware of?"

Closure of the workshop by Head of Unit Erwan Marteil (DG ECHO.B3 Prevention and Preparedness Capacity Building)

News

Documents

ai-for-drm-annotated-agenda-22-oct.pdf

(410.92 KB - PDF)
Download

AI for DRM workshop slides

(11.37 MB - PDF)
Download

workshop-report.pdf

(385.21 KB - PDF)
Download

Sectors

AI, RPAS & remote sensing