Successful first scientific congress ‘Research for Civil Protection’ from the Federal Office of Civil Protection and Disaster Assistance Germany (BBK) took place in Bonn from 12-14 January 2023.
Image: (c) BBK, January 2023
The Federal Office of Civil Protection and Disaster Assistance Germany (BBK) supports citizens to be more resilient and better prepared to strengthen their self-protection. To do this, knowledge should be improved and exchanged among authorities and researchers. BBK organised its first-ever congress on ‘Research for Civil Protection’ in Bonn to do exactly this.
Scientists submitted contributions on topics such as CBRN protection, structural civil protection, psychosocial crisis management, risk management and risk analysis. The programme included 45 specialised sessions with a total of 145 individual contributions. The big response to the congress, with 500 registrations, led to an expansion of the original programme and demonstrated the high demand for events like this, dedicated to scientific exchanges on civil protection.
The congress promoted scientific exchange in research for civil protection, to improve the quality management of research in and for the BBK, and to offer a forum and an anchor point to the scientific community. The sessions covered more than 20 different scientific disciplines, from social sciences and medicine to environmental sciences, geography, political sciences, media studies, rescue engineering, and computer science.
After the congress, the outdoor exhibition ‘Experience Civil Defence’ attracted a lot of interested visitors despite the cold and wet weather. Demonstrating equipment, the exhibition aimed to make civil protection tangible and experienceable, especially for scientists who spend a lot of their work time at their desks. Seeing the equipment used in disaster management and response meant that they could see the results of their research in practice.
BBK is committed to ensuring that research does not only take place on paper, but that practical and innovative solutions for civil protection are developed and used in dialogue with potential users. All these goals were achieved with this first congress. The event was very well received and will be repeated on a regular basis. The speakers’ contributions from the 2023 congress will be published as a lasting and practical product of the event.
Author: Dr. Linda Taft, research coordinator at Federal Office of Civil Protection and Disaster Assistance Germany (forschung@bbk.bund.de)
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