NEREIDs: Embracing innovation for preparedness in civil protection and marine pollution

The “Deepwater Horizon” oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico highlights the value of cross-border civil protection and marine pollution preparedness, cooperation, and training, given the current oil and gas drilling activities in SA Mediterranean and the devastating economic and ecological effects of a technological disaster in coasts of such unique natural beauty.
The NEREIDs proposal aims to strengthen civil protection and marine pollution preparedness and cooperation among Greece and Cyprus, building on international standards, best practices, and innovative Information and Communication Technologies (ICT). An eLearning platform building on innovative concepts of online games, mobile technologies & apps will train professionals and volunteers in plans and best practices supported by R&D in Cyprus, Greece, UK, and Germany.
The NEREIDs project is a two- year project started in 2013. It is partly funded by the European Commission under the Civil Protection Financial Instrument in the area of preparedness in Civil Protection and Marine Pollution under Grant Agreement no ECHO/ SUB/2012/638494.
NEREIDs: Embracing innovation for preparedness in civil protection and marine pollution Risk assessment techniques supported by cooperation of marine research centres in Greece, Cyprus and the UK, and an incident database including descriptions of incidents in a standard format will provide the basis for Skills development on cross-border cooperation and synergies, the Host Nation Support (HNS) guidelines, and collaboration among professionals and Red Cross and Johanniter-UnfallHilfe volunteers.
Two table-top exercises, multiple information days, and a final conference organized by civil protection & marine pollution authorities, will provide engagement opportunities for embers of the European Civil Protection Mechanism (ECPM). Three evaluation workshops will support co-operative design of training material for skills development and knowledge retention. The Greek participant of the NEREIDs project is the Foundation for Research and Technology - Hellas (FORTH), one of the largest research centres of Greece, with well organised facilities and a highly qualified staff. The Institute of Computer Science at FORTH (FORTHICS), since its establishment in 1983, is a pioneering contributor towards the deployment and adoption of Information Society Technologies in Greece.  (Article's Source)