Study Visit – DG-ECHO Armenia FSX Project HOPE

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Mr. Evangelos Katsaros, CERIDES Research Associate and Project Manager of the DG-ECHO project HOPE, together with Dr. Christos Dimopoulos, CERIDES co-Director and Scientific Manager of the same project, participated in the project’s Exercise Study Visit, which took place during the 18th and the 19th of May 2022 in Yerevan, Armenia.

The aim of the study visit was to create a common understanding of the actual needs and challenges of the Exercise, avoiding misunderstandings and mistakes in planning. In particular, it provided participants with the opportunity to gain a first-hand experience of the exercise sites and their special characteristics. The Study Visit was organised and implemented in an excellent manner by the Ministry of Emergency Situations of Armenia (MES).

The Team of the Armenian Ministry of Emergency Situations of The Republic of Armenia, headed by Mr. Hovhannes Yemishyan, Deputy Director of Rescue Service, and  Ms. Armine Hayrapetyan, Representative of MES in foreign countries and International Organisations, showcased the initial plans for the elaboration of the FSX scenario. The project participants were very satisfied with the initial plans, and provided their ideas for possible further improvements. These plans will be discussed and finalised during the upcoming 1st Planning Conference of the HOPE project, which will take place during September 2022 in Yerevan, Armenia.

The HOPE FSX project is funded by the Directorate-General (DG) for European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations – (ECHO), through the Union Civil Protection Mechanism (Call: UCPM-2021-EXT). CERIDES acts as the Coordinating Organisation for this project. The aim of the project is to improve civil protection preparedness and response capabilities of Armenia in dealing with large, complex disasters that require joint response coordination facilitated via the Union Civil Protection Mechanism and INSARAG. South Caucasus countries’ efforts for sustainable development are clearly threatened by a devastating earthquake. Thus, sharing capacities, capabilities and resources, scientific support decision making, use of proven innovative tools, and joint training / exercising can lead to radical improvement of international cross border cooperation procedures of the Mechanism.

The HOPE Consortium comprises of academic, civil protection, and private organisations from the countries of Armenia, Cyprus, France, Greece, Montenegro, and North Macedonia.

The CERIDES Team responsible for the management, coordination, and implementation of the HOPE project, comprises of the following scientists:

Mr. Evangelos Katsaros (Project Manager)

Dr. Christos Dimopoulos (Scientific Manager)

Dr. Georgia Solomonidou (Research Associate)

Professor George Boustras (Scientific Advisor)