On 6-7 October 2026, the SUNSHINE projectopens in new tab team conducted its second and final Simulation Exercise (SIMEX) in Brussels. Over two days, civil protection professionals from across Europe took on the role of a national crisis cell and managed a disaster from the first warning signs to the recovery phase, using EU Space data and services at every step.
The first SIMEX, held in March 2026, tested two separate scenarios. This edition took a different form: a table-top walk-through exercise built around one continuous story. Participants acted as the crisis cell of a fictional EU Member State facing a flood emergency which worsened over several weeks. The groups mixed professionals trained in earlier SUNSHINE seminars with colleagues new to the project and European Commission staff, so that experience could be shared around the table.
The scenario unfolded through seven successive situation updates, known as injects. After each inject, the groups had limited time to prepare a situation report answering four questions: what is happening, what are the main risks, which EU Space data and services can support the decisions to be taken, and how the crisis is likely to evolve. One group then presented its report to the room, with the roles of rapporteur and timekeeper rotating at every inject, before the SUNSHINE experts walked everyone through the solution. Across the three phases of the crisis, participants called on data and services from Copernicusopens in new tab, Galileoopens in new tab, GOVSATCOMopens in new tab, and Space Situational Awareness (SSA)opens in new tab.
The second day was dedicated to debriefing. After replaying the scenario step by step, participants reviewed each service in turn: when it comes into play, what it delivers, and how to access it.
Read more in the DG DEFIS Press Release.
Could not attend? The SUNSHINE training materials remain open to you
This SIMEX was the final activity of a capacity building programme which started in 2025. Through four training seminars, three technical webinars, and two simulation exercises, SUNSHINE reached more than 300 emergency professionals across Europe.
The knowledge built along the way stays with the civil protection community, as all SUNSHINE materials are available to download from the SUNSHINE project page on UCPKN.
Explore the SUNSHINE project page:
https://civil-protection-knowledge-network.europa.eu/projects/sunshineopens in new tab
Thematic series