The event commenced with opening remarks delivered by Hanna Jahns, Director of Disaster Preparedness and Prevention at ECHO.B, DG ECHO in the European Commission. Her speech outlined the event's objectives and emphasised its significance in fostering a more cohesive civil protection community.

To facilitate introductions and networking among the attendees, a creative icebreaker activity in the form of ‘human bingo’ was put in place. This engaging introduction was followed by two sessions of the Pitch Series (where participants could volunteer to present a project or area that they had been involved with) focused on ‘Operations and Response’ and a session on the Union Civil Protection Mechanism. Concluding each presentation, an interactive Q & A allowed the audience to engage with the speakers.

The Union Civil Protection Knowledge Network organised this event in order to support young people in the field of civil protection from all over Europe in connecting and collaborating with each other through interactive and stimulating workshops. Three varied workshops were run during the YCPP 2023 edition: 

• VOST - Virtual Operations Support Teams: Participants were introduced to the concept of Virtual Operations Support Teams (VOST), with a focus on VOST Portugal/Europe. The workshop emphasised the use of publicly available information to support emergency response operations. It introduced the potential, as well as the limitations of VOST, allowing participants to engage in a hands-on exercise, simulating a VOST Team's work using real data from past operations to create information products for ongoing emergencies.

To conclude the two-day gathering, a Simulation Exercise on UCPM Information Management was held in which all attendees were able to discuss and respond to a simulated natural disaster scenario involving real-time information exchange, decision-making, and resource mobilisation, as well as a variety of stakeholders, including national authorities, EU institutions, non-governmental organisations, and other relevant partners.

The YCPP event plays an important role in fostering a stronger community, uniting the young individuals who embody the future of civil protection in Europe. Over these two intense days, the Knowledge Network platform saw its numbers grow to welcome its 800th member. Whether it was during coffee breaks, the guided evening tour of Brussels, or the collaborative efforts within various workshops, the imperative to strengthen the bonds among Knowledge Network Community members was evident throughout.