CNDS Director, Giuliano Di Baldassarre participated in the Security Research Event (SRE) organised by the European Commission

CNDS Director, Giuliano Di Baldassarre was one of the invited panelists at the thematic panel on ”Natural, accidental and intentional disasters of the future: are we prepared?” that took place in Brussels, on 24-25 October 2023

The European Commission (EC) organized the Security Research Event (SRE) bringing together approximately 800 participants from different backgrounds ‒researchers, policy-makers, private sector, public security and practitioners. The main themes for the SRE in 2023 are reflected in its title “Societal transformations, digitalisation and climate change – a new paradigm for Security Research”. The event took place in Brussels on 24-25 October 2023.

CNDS Director, Giuliano Di Baldassarre, was invited as a speaker at the panel moderated by Daniel Sempere-Torres (CRAHI, Spain), and with the participation of Maíre Connolly (University of Galway, Ireland), Olga Vybornova (Catholic University of Louvain, Belgium) and Frédéric Guyomard (EDF, France) with the title on ”Natural, accidental and intentional disasters of the future: are we prepared?”. The panel dealt, among other things, with how disaster risks may be anticipated in the future, as well as how European civil security research and innovation can help improving European capabilities for security and resilience.

In particular, Giuliano’s intervention focused on extreme events, such as floods, droughts, wildfires or landslides. He argued that while many societies have become better prepared to deal with ordinary events, they face catastrophic losses when unprecedented events occur. Besides, he underlined the complexity of the social dimension of disaster risk, which requires a multidisciplinary approach. Although societal transformations, digitalisation and climate change can be considered separately, on the ground they can mutually reinforce each other, creating synergy effects.  

The Security Research Event (SRE) at the European Commission is an annual meeting where policy makers, knowledge institutions and industry discuss current and future challenges for security research in Europe. The increasing complexity of preparedness and response brings opportunities and challenges for security authorities all across Europe. Due to its expertise in interdisciplinary research of natural hazards and disasters, CNDS is glad to contribute to the efforts of the international community to overcome some of the challenges for security research in Europe.