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The EUR-OPA
Major Hazards Agreement has always given an absolute priority to the
initiatives aiming to develop the programs on education, training and
information, which represents the "cornerstone” of the culture of risk and
a basis for a clever risks prevention policy. Its actions in the domain are
embedded within the European Programme of Training in Risk Sciences FORM-OSE (Formation
Ouest, Sud, Est) whose objective is to stimulate the training
in Risk Sciences at three levels:
School
level
 Since
its creation, the Agreement has devoted a major interest to the awareness of school-age
children. This priority given to the activities concerning risks prevention
for children rely on the following facts:
-
more
receptive to messages of prevention (curious and not conditioned);
-
better
information "transmitters” within their family;
-
most
vulnerable targets with respect to risks.
Two
types of activities were consequently privileged for this age group:
Ø
Education to risks knowledge
A
series of conferences on this topic, organized by the European Centre for Risk
Prevention (CLST) of Sofia (Bulgaria), allowed to compare the initiatives
engaged in the Member States and to coordinate the network of the Centres
working in this field.
Relevant
actions were thus identified and some of which are already committed:
- To
integrate a risks prevention training (provided by sectoral or specific
teachers) at the pre-school/school level programs;
- To work out a common base training on risks prevention and to make
an inventory of the pedagogical/multimedia tools on risks prevention;
- To promote an Euro-Mediterranean Day on Risks Prevention and
Childhood.
- To recognize the right of children to risks education and
prevention, protection and mutual help measures training;
- To
support a pilot project on risks prevention training for school children via new
information technologies;
- Pilot
project "Seismic risk in school establishments” (physical behaviour of the building,
internal organization in front of the seism, reflex attitudes to hold...).
- To stress the right of the population (especially that at
school-level) to be informed as regards risks prevention and behaviour
to be adopted in case of crisis;
- To
create a Euro-Mediterranean Network of school establishments for the promotion
of the “Culture of Risk” based on the installation of safety plans;
- To
write legal training modules on safety in school establishments available for
the trainers’ training programmes.
Ø
Site Be Safe.Net
 The
European Centre of Nicosia (Cyprus) is setting up a multilingual Internet site
"Be Safe Net” in which three other Centres of the Agreement participate:
the CERG of Strasbourg (France), the CUEBC of Ravello (Italy) and the CLST of Sofia (Bulgaria).
This
project has as origin the conclusions of the meeting on "Education to risks
prevention at school level” from October 2002 in Sofia which decided the
creation of a Website intended for school establishments actors (school-level children,
teachers, administrative and technical staff, families and local authorities) in
order to:
-
Inform: regulations, tools for sensitizing and preparation to the risk, experiments;
-
Train: children, teachers, administrative and technical staff, local authorities;
-
Produce: games, videos, photographs...;
-
Interact:
newsgroups and electronic conferences, investigations.
Link
to the website (in construction):
http://www.besafenet.org/
Ø
Risks prevention in school establishments
 The
conclusions of the international seminar "Safety of the teaching process
and of buildings in school establishments", held in Sofia (December 2000),
leaded to the drafting of an Euro-Mediterranean Protocol for Risks Prevention
in school establishments which is articulated around the following points:
-
Evaluation of the specific vulnerability of the establishment,
-
Take into account persons’ safety,
-
Staff
training (head of establishment, teachers, administratives, technicians),
-
Awareness
and association of the pupils’ parents,
-
Organization
of the internal safety plan and posting of instructions,
-
Periodic
simulations with common analysis of the experience feedbacks,
-
Integration
in the educational project of the establishment.
In
parallel, under the impulse of the European University Centre for Cultural
Heritage (CUEBC) of Ravello (Italy), an Euro-Mediterranean Network of School Establishments
for the promotion of the risk culture joining this Protocol was set up. Its
major objective is the analysis of the various types of intrinsic risks of
school establishments related to their structures, their vulnerability and
their environment in order to define an establishment project specifying:
- an adequate
adjustment project of the establishment structures;
- a
teaching project for the establishment’s pupils, families and staff.
Link to
the website: http://www.edumed.info/home.htm
 University level
The
University level training programme of the Agreement aims at promoting the
training of regional and local risk managers in public and private sectors and some
specific training activities will be introduced, related to the use of new
tools developed for the risk management support.
To
better define the needs for private and public sectors in the field of risk
management, the Agreement launched in 1995 an inquire on job opportunities in
France whose main conclusion was to identify that the proposed posts would
correspond to general bac+4 (Bachelor) levels supplemented by complementary
trainings, which led the Agreement to put the stress on post-graduate (Master) training.
Following
this report, the Agreement collaborated in the setting up of various professionalized
post-graduate trainings in various member countries and on various aspects of major
hazards management.
Ø
European Master on Disaster Medicine (San Marino)
 The
Agreement, through its specialized centre European Centre for Disaster Medicine
(CEMEC) of San Marino, was one of the promoters of this training and materialized
in the organization of a European Certificate in Disaster Medicine (transformed
now into a Master) which associated Università del Piemonte Orientale, Vreij
Universitiet Brussel, Università della Repubblica di San Marino and the CEMEC.
The
Master wants to provide a clear sight of the major concepts in disasters medical
preparation and management so that the graduates can:
- to
evaluate the health hazards and to take part in the associated medical
preparation;
- to
direct the medical team and organise/manage evaluation and debriefing sessions;
- to
provide awareness to disasters management in the medical staff reaction;
- to
undertake research on the medical aspects of disasters.
The
EMDM is thus a one year Master limited to 35 pupils because of its educational structure:
- a self-training
based on the training through problems resolution;
- a presential
course with debates and exercises on problems resolution;
- a
report related to a topic on disasters medicine or management;
- a
final examination including an electronic exercise of disaster simulation.
Link
to the website: http://www.dismedmaster.com/
Ø
Speciality “Risk Science” of the “Risks Environment” Master (Montpellier)
 This
speciality, approved by the Agreement as an European master, associates in a global
multi-disciplinary approach the three Universities of Montpellier and the Ecole
des Mines of Alès (France). Supported by the European University Pole of
Montpellier, the Euro-Mediterranean Observatory on Risk management (EMORI), a specialized
centre of the Agreement, also cooperates in its organization. The teaching
staff associates academics and high level executives (of the administrations or
public and private companies) concerned with risk management. The training
intends to provide a high level general culture concerning risk, applicable in
functions corresponding to either universitary or professional profiles
(continuous training). Among the professional opportunities, one can outline:
- To
analyze and quantify risks situations,
- To
evaluate the consequences of an exposure to a danger
(technical, economic,
legal, anthropological, cultural ... consequences)
- To
propose solutions adapted to each situation.
Link
to the website:
http://en.www.univ-montp1.fr
Ø
Specialised Mastère in Risk Management on Territories – Applied Urban Cindynic
(EISTI, Cergy Pontoise)
 Opened
to the holders of a Master or of a Bachelor plus 3 years of professional
experience, this Mastère supported by private and public partners (within them the
Agreement which promoted its creation) aims at training risks territorial
managers to the technological and strategic developments by associating
theoretical lessons, personal research work in companies and the defence of a
professional thesis.
The
phase of formal training (6 months) comprises 10 modules on topics as various
as:
-
Principles
and general action of risk management
-
Responsibilities
of the territorial organizations facing risks
-
Natural
and technological risks
-
Urban
risks and public safety
-
Risks
and public health
-
Risks,
cyber criminality and data processing
-
Risks
and durable development
Link
to the website:
http://mastere-risque-territoire.eisti.fr
Ø
Projects being studied
Other
aspects of risk prevention and management should be the subject of academic specialized
training and the specialized Centres of the Agreement can play a catalysis role
in the setting up of such post-graduate training projects.
It
is also important to promote the major risks lectures within more general
trainings such as the engineers and architects schools as well as other
technical trainings on building and public works.
 Professional level
The
already operational Masters, as well as the above mentioned projects, at the
university level have in general a continuous training option addressed to the
professionals. Nevertheless, shorter and more professionalized trainings are
also necessary to ensure the best follow up of risks.
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A pilot project concerning technological risks
This
need for vocational trainings was felt in particular in the field of
technological risks and the Agreement thus launched a pilot project of training
of specialized inspectors whose missions include the following tasks:
-
Checking
and promotion of the conformity of the regulated plants to the relevant
environmental requirements fixed by the legislation,
-
Control
of the incidences in regulated plants in order to know if complementary inspections/controls
are needed for the provisions application (in particular the granting,
modification or cancellation of the authorization or licence) to guarantee the
respect of the law requirements.
 Under
the initiative of the Ministry for the Regional Planning, Water and Environment
of the Kingdom of Morocco, a training course for a first Moroccan promotion of
Environmental Inspectors was set up in July 2004. This initiative was
implemented thanks to the support and the co-operation of the French INESC (National
Institute of Civil Safety Studies) and of the REMIFOR (Draguignan, France), which carried out all the programme of interactive educational tele-training via satellite
(e-learning).
Over
20 registered candidates, 19 succeeded the knowledge control tests and obtained
the Environmental Inspector Diploma. This first promotion made a point of
writing the first Moroccan Charter of Environmental Inspectors. It is expected
that the second promotion of Inspectors will be formed before the end of the
year 2006 and to evaluate the repercussions of this initiative for its possible
adaptation to the needs for other Member States.
Ø
Training trainers: the school of civil protection of Kosovo
 Following
the request addressed in December 1999 by the Representative of the Secretary
General of the United Nations in Pristina to the Secretary General of the
Council of Europe, the Agreement implemented a program to support the creation
of a Civil Protection Force through the setting up of the School of Civil
Protection of Kosovo.
This
program was translated in the following actions:
-
realization
of the risks analysis in this area (March-April 2000) to define the principal
roles to attribute to this Civil Protection Force;
-
participation
in the creation of the School of Civil Protection in Kosovo allowing to
transform the UCK into a civil protection system, the KPC;
-
organization
of a 6 months course to train the executives of this new School;
-
production
of a "Handbook” of 800 pages for the training of the teachers of the
School of Civil Protection (in English and translated into Albanian).
This
program was implemented in co-operation with the International Organization of
Migrations (OIM) and the structure of the United Nations in Kosovo (UNMIK) and
nine specialized Centres of the Agreement took part in this initiative.
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