The First National Conference on Civil Protection held in Tirana with Mr. Bertolaso, Head of the Italian Civil Protection

 
Formez, in the ambit of the Balkans 2 Project “Development and Strengthening of Local and Central Public Administrations" organized the First National Conference on Civil Protection in Albania which was held in Tirana from November 12th to 13th novembre (together with the Albanian Ministry of the Interior and in collaboration with the Italian Department for Civil Protection).
The Directorate for Civil Emergencies of the Ministry of the Interior of the Republic of Albania and the Department for Civil Protection of the Italian Republic in the presence of the Head of the Department, Mr. Guido Bertolaso, analyzed in depth the topics related to “The System of Civil Protection in Albania, the state of advancement and the need for change and international experiences”.
The conference was realized in the framework of the bilateral relationships between Italy and Albania and in collaboration with the international organizations involved in the implementation of the Action Plan “Hyogo 2005-2015” of the United Nations for the reduction of disasters risks.
The conference aimed at the following:
·         To consolidate the basis for cooperation between the Italian and Albanian systems of Civil Protection
·         To strengthen the Albanian Civil Protection System by fostering the initiatives aimed at prevention and mitigation of natural risks and those related to human activities
·         To enhance the regulatory framework on civil protection, in particular with reference to the local organization in order to improve the integrated system of intervention in case of emergency
·         To encourage support to the Albanian Civil Protection from the international scientific community
·         To accelerate the integration processes of the Albanian civil protection on ISDR (International Strategy for Disaster Risk Reduction).
Political and institutional authorities of the Republic of Albania, representatives from international bodies in the territory (UNDP, OSCE, Council of Europe, European commission, World Bank, UN/ISDR) as well as scientific research and academic institutes took part. An important and significant event in the ambit of the conference works was the signing of the “Letter of Intentions” between the Italian Department for Civil Protection and the Directorate General for Civil Emergencies and the Ministry of the Interior of the Republic of Albania. With this document we intend to lay the basis for a closer collaboration and cooperation between the Civil Protection systems in the two countries which come after the aid provided by Italy to Albania following the devastating forest fires which hit the Balkan country last Summer.
The Conference was opened by:
Alfred Olli – Director General for Civil Emergencies - Ministry of the Interior of the Republic of Albania
Bujar Nishani - Ministry of the Interior of the Republic of Albania
Saba D'Elia – Italian Ambassador in Tirana;