The event marked the beginning of a two-year journey under the UCPM-2024-KAPP program, funded by the European Commission – DG ECHO, bringing together partners from across Europe to enhance cross-border disaster preparedness and risk-informed emergency planning.
The EMERGE Project officially launched with a successful kick-off meeting held on March 7, 2025, at the Polytechnic University of Tirana (UPT). The event marked the beginning of a two-year journey under the UCPM-2024-KAPP program, funded by the European Commission – DG ECHO, bringing together partners from across Europe to enhance cross-border disaster preparedness and risk-informed emergency planning.
Hosted by UPT and co-chaired by representatives from IZIIS (Ss. Cyril and Methodius University in Skopje, Institute of Earthquake Engineering and Engineering Seismology), AKMC (National Civil Protection Agency of Albania), and INFRATECH, the meeting gathered over 35 participants from 12 institutions across 6 countries. Representatives of Universities, research institutes, civil protection authorities, and private sector organizations convened to align on the project’s vision, goals, and collaborative strategy. Opening remarks by Prof. Ylber Muceku (UPT) and Prof. Radmila Salic Makreska (IZIIS, Project Coordinator) emphasized the urgency of strengthening regional cooperation in the face of escalating multi-hazard risks.
EMERGE, with a total budget of €995,572.94, is scheduled to run from February 2025 to January 2027. It aims to develop a web-based platform for rapid, scenario-based, multi-risk assessment—initially focusing on earthquakes and landslides—to support needs-based emergency response and planning at both national and regional levels.
The technical program featured detailed presentations of the five work packages: Project Management (WP1), Comprehensive Multi Risk Assessment Platform for Needs Prioritization and Planning (WP2), CBR Exposure, Resources and Capacity Portfolio (WP3), CBR Ground Shaking Map (WP4), and Dissemination (WP5). Discussions focused on timelines, deliverables, inter-partner coordination, and shared responsibilities, ensuring a solid foundation for the implementation phase. Immediate next steps will include finalizing the Consortium Agreement, setting up internal communication protocols, and launching the first technical activities.
Each partner institution presented its role and contributions, reinforcing the strength of the consortium. IZIIS (North Macedonia) coordinates the project and leads risk modeling and governance. UPT (Albania) supports outreach and academic integration. EUCENTRE (Italy) leads the development of the core risk platform. AUTH (Greece) and IUSS (Italy) contribute expertise on vulnerability and resilience analysis. NOA (Greece) supports the integration of real-time seismic data and ground shaking modeling. AKMC, PRD, and CMC ensure coordination with civil protection systems in Albania and North Macedonia. PPI (Germany) provides global expertise in preparedness and emergency planning, while Janson Bridging (Netherlands) and INFRATECH (Albania) strengthen the engineering and infrastructure resilience dimension of the project.
The event concluded with mutual commitments to close collaboration, transparency, and timely delivery. Participants expressed a strong sense of motivation and collective responsibility to make EMERGE a success and to contribute to a more resilient region and more resilient Europe.
