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News le t t e r
4/2006
19.9.2006
Editorial
Europe is growing closer together, also in the field of civil protection. Today, joint training,
joint exercises and joint operations of Member States are nothing unusual. However, the
coordination of such activities across borders still requires a lot of money and effort.
Cooperation no longer means that all partners have to meet in a certain place. Digital media have removed physical barriers to a major extent. Why should it be necessary for people to travel or fly across the whole of Europe to meet in one place, thereby causing a major
burden in terms of costs and personnel, if a working group is supposed to prepare an exercises scenario? Why should it be necessary to hold weekly management seminars, constituting a similar burden, if in three days face-to-face tuition only those issues are taught
which a person could easily study all by himself? The answer for these and similar cases is
as simple as this: These measures are not necessary.
The EU Commission wants to prove this fact with its Virtual Academy project and develop new communication and training methods to be used in practice. Virtual class room,
blended learning, e-learning, fora and chat rooms are some of the key words describing
this aspect of Europes digital vision. The Academy is supported by powerful partners: the
EU Commission, Siemens Business Solutions (SBS), a Core Group with experts from
Portugal, France, the Czech Republic, Slovenia, Poland, Sweden and the Federal Office of
Civil Protection and Disaster Assistance (BBK) are cooperating to ensure the conceptual
and technical implementation of the project. By the end of 2007 the virtual campus with
its full range of services is intended to be online. According to the BBK, it will link up
European, but also national civil protection structures in a completely new way.
Yours sincerely,
Wolfgang Weber
News le t t e r
4/2006
19.9.2006
The first meeting on EVA4CP was held with the Core Group and the EU Commission in
Brussels from 20 to 21 February 2006. The Core Group consists of six members of training institutions in Sweden, France, the Czech Republic, Poland, Portugal and Slovenia.
They act as advisors for the project.
The development of the platform corresponds with the requirements of a virtual academy for civil protection at EU level (ongoing process).
The elements for the development of an
e-learning module to provide training
within the framework of the EU
Community Mechanism have been analysed and selected.
The EVA4CP platform has been online
since 15 May 2006 and is available at
www.eva4cp.eu, www.eva4cp.org or
www.eva4cp.net.
The first workshop on EVA4CP was held
in Ahrweiler from 19 to 22 May 2006.
The first virtual meeting of the Core
Group at the platform took place on 7
July 2006.
The following explanations are intended to provide some insight into the functioning of
the EVA4CP platform of the virtual academy and the development of an e-learning module. Furthermore, the results of the first workshop held from 19 to 22 May 2006 and the
experience from the first virtual meeting on 7 July 2006 with the Core Group will be presented.
News le t t e r
4/2006
19.9.2006
Learning
Knowledge
Work
Specific information
Manuals
Exercises
Planning documents
Forum
Chat
Messaging (exchange of messages)
Document filing system
Target groups:
The platform is intended for experts and those responsible for civil protection at EU level.
This also includes participants of EU courses on the Community Mechanism and the EU
training coordinators. To prepare cooperation on the platform the following user groups
and areas have been set up:
EU training coordinators,
Central training institutions of Member States,
Training and curricula,
Operations experts,
The EU Commission and the central civil protection institutions in the Member States,
EVA4CP project team,
Core Group of the project,
First workshop on the project,
Planning and implementing EU exercises,
Cooperation in specific areas of civil protection.
The list can be amended any time.
User-friendly operation
The menu items are clear and easy to understand and offer the user the available options
any time.
News le t t e r
4/2006
19.9.2006
Study groups
The participants are assigned to various study groups depending on the issues to be studied or on organizational requirements, and obtain information and knowledge. The
study groups can receive assistance from a study organizer (trainer) but also work all by
themselves, share information or report on
experience of practical implementation.
Communication and cooperation
The special strong point of the EVA4CP portal is communication. Users can communicate and receive or provide information via
fora, internal e-mail functions, chats, and
group and event calendars. The group
calendar includes information on the presence of teletutors, e.g. in the chat room,
and is generally intended to notify users of
the possibility of synchronous study units
with learners and trainers. Thus, a different
kind of learning is possible, and up-to-date
information supports work in civil protection, because learning does not end when leaving the class room, but only starts at that
moment.
Virtual class room
The study methods of EVA4CP are based on tried and tested methods real training in
seminar rooms (e.g. at the BBKs academy). In addition to these seminars there are webbased elements (chat, fora, ), which are frequently used today. Furthermore, there is a
virtual class room allowing participants to meet at the virtual EVA4CP academy, talk to
one another, give presentations (such as Powerpoint presentations or video sequences),
discuss and find new solutions everyone from their home country and place of work linked via the internet.
News le t t e r
4/2006
19.9.2006
News le t t e r
4/2006
19.9.2006
News le t t e r
4/2006
19.9.2006
Future steps:
Working groups with members from different Member States will develop and implement
the networks. The project team will have regular discussions with the Core Group at the
platform to overcome the spatial distance by holding virtual meetings and to cooperate
in an efficient way in terms of time and
costs.
The project provides for a regular exchange between the project management and
the European Commission. One of the results of the projects will be recommendations for the Member States on how to use
synergy effects and implement new curricula on a joint training platform at EU level.
Furthermore proposals for the joint preparation, implementation and evaluation of
EU exercises will be drawn up. At its meeting with EU training coordinators in October 2006 the EU Commission intends to
present the EVA4CP platform for joint cooperation.
Currently, a user group called
Committee is being established for the Committee of the EU Commission, the civil protection action programme and the Community Mechanism. In this group, committee
members can receive information on the current status of the project. The Committee
consists of all Member States of the EU, the states of the European Economic Area and the
candidate countries. From 19 to 20 September 2006 the second European Congress on
Disaster Management will be held at the city hall in Bonn-Bad Godesberg. At its exhibition
stand, the BBK will present additional information on the EUs EVA4CP project and demonstrate the way the platform and the virtual class room work.