The 10th CMDR COE Anniversary
Date: (31-03-2025)
On 31 March 2025, the family of CMDR COE celebrates the 10th anniversary of the organisation. A gala event gathered together former and present members of the Centre to mark formally the birthday. Special guests of the event were H.E. Ambassadors of NATO States and Partners in the Republic of Bulgaria who greeted the celebration.
Special honours – a plaquette of the Bulgarian Defence Ministry and a certificate of appreciation – were bestowed upon Centre’s members by the Director of the CMDR COE on the occasion of the anniversary.
"Today, we are not just celebrating a Birthday; we’re commemorating a remarkable decade, marked by transformative achievements and sustained excellence. This is an opportunity to reflect on what’s been accomplished and to honour every individual who has contributed to shaping our Centre into what it is today - a headlight of expertise and innovation respected across continents. We are giving our thanks to our present and former members and partners for their support and dedication to the cause of developing the organisation. I am convinced that CMDR COE will continue to grow and develop successfully also in the next ten dozen years," said Colonel Nikolov, Director of the Centre.
In 2025, CMDR COE is celebrating a decade full of successes as seen in the numerous organised educational events, exercises, seminars, conferences, etc. as well as in the establishment of many strategic partnerships.
The Crisis Management and Disaster Response Centre of Excellence (CMDR COE) is a multi-national NATO military body sponsored by the Hellenic Republic, Hungary, the Republic of Poland, Romania and the Republic of Bulgaria (Framework Nation). The Centre, located in Sofia, Bulgaria, currently has a 40-strong team of both civilian and military experts who continuously tackle a wide range of CMDR-related issues with the ultimate goal of supporting NATO’s standardisation and transformation.
The CMDR COE was found on August 28, 2013 and received accreditation on March 31, 2015 as the 21st NATO COE with an international status under Article 14 of the Paris Protocol. The Centre has granted a NATO Quality Assurance Accreditation Certificate for Unconditional Accreditation (No. ACT/JFD/HCEIT/TT+1548/Ser: NU) and all its certified courses are NATO-Approved as they meet the Alliance’s quality requirements.
CMDR COE provides tailor-made education and training in the scope of its expertise for senior military and civilian leaders. In such regard, the Centre has capabilities to dispatch in place mobile training teams and subject matter experts to facilitate trainings of national and multinational military and/or civilian unit, dealing with crisis management and disaster response. CMDR COE has established an Operation Laboratory and keep on developing both software and hardware standards in support to the planning and conduct of NATO's, Allies' and Partners' exercises and experimentations, including in the creation and validation of scenarios for disaster response. Basically, the using of mathematical models (modelling) to the accuracy and adequacy of the input data (for weather, terrain, obstacles, conditions, etc) provides visualizations of impacts of such events in virtual environment (simulations). The aim is to support the decision-making as well as the planning process and assessment of the emergency plans for reaction and response.
Over the years, the CMDR COE has earned international recognition not only as a centre of expertise in crisis management and disaster response but also as a hub for innovation, knowledge exchange, and best practices within the CMDR domain. Thus, the Centre has forged excellent partnerships and cooperation with key NATO and EU bodies, institutions, and agencies. Presently, the CMDR COE places emphasis on developing curriculum and critical thinking on disciplines as Crisis and Disaster management; Environmental risks; Climate change and Security; Building resilience through Preparedness; Building Integrity; Modelling & Simulation and AI Technical architecture for Decision Makers and Gender Focal Points. Additionally, the Sofia-based COE serves as platform for key NATO events, as well as for numerous CMDR-related conferences, workshops, and trainings.
News
ESDC Press Release on the Disaster Relief in CSDP Context CourseThe European Security and Defence College (ESDC) had the honour of co-organising the course on Disaster Relief in CSDP Context, together with the Crisis Management and Disaster Response Centre of Excellence, the Diplomatic Institute to the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Bulgaria and the Romanian National College of Home Affairs.
» read more
Spring 2022 CMDR COE Interns successfully complete their internship Interns present their research on CMDR-related topics.
» read more
Disaster Relief in CSDP Context CourseThe aim of the course is to provide basic knowledge about the impact of man-made, natural and climate driven disasters on the European Security.
» read more
Honorary Award from the Bulgarian Diplomatic Institute CMDR COE Director awarded for contribution
» read more
NATO Partnerships 360 SymposiumCMDR COE Panelist to the NATO Partnerships 360 Symposium.
» read more
New life for used plastic – the CMDR COE launches a recycling initiativeThe CMDR COE new approach to reducing plastic pollution.
» read more
Representatives from UK and US Embassies paid a visit to CMDR COEThe CMDR COE is proud to announce that on 31st of May 2022 a meeting with representatives from The United Kingdom Embassy to Bulgaria and the United States Embassy to Bulgaria was held.
» read more
Visit of the Chief of Defence of the Republic of TurkeyOn 31st of May, 2022, General Yaşar Güler, Commander of the Turkish Armed Forces paid an official visit to CMDR COE.
» read more
Role of Crisis DiplomacyTogether with Bulgarian Diplomatic Institute (BDI) online iteration of the Crisis Management in Multilateral Frameworks (IGOs): The Role of Political/Civilian and Military Crisis Diplomacy Course
» read more
Signed Note of Joining of Hungary to CMDR COEWe are proud to announce that a Note of Joining of Hungary to CMDR OOE was signed at the Headquarters of the Allied Command of Transformation.
» read more
Visit of the JFCNP ACOS J9Brigadier General Marcus Ellermann paid a visit to the CMDR COE
» read more
Successful hybrid iteration of the Climate Change and Security CourseAnother successful iteration of the Climate Change and Security course took place from 05 to 08 April 2022 on the CMDR COE premises in Sofia, and online.
» read more
Climate Change and Security Course startedToday, 5th April, the Climate Change and Security Course began. The course is conducted under the auspicious of the European Security and Defence College (ESDC), with the support of the Diplomatic Institute to the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Bulgaria.
» read more
CMDR COE celebrated its 7th AnniversaryOn 31 March 2022, CMDR COE celebrated its 7th Anniversary
» read more
Crisis Management and Disaster Response Course successfully completedThe hyrbid (residential and on-line) edition of the Crisis Management and Disaster Response Course was conducted in the period 21-25 Mar 2022 from the virtual studio of CMDR COE.
» read more
Cooperation with Department of Energy, USAProductive working meeting with representatives from the Department of Energy (US DOE)
» read more
Online using JADL platformConducting Disaster Management Course via Joint Advanced Distributed Learning (JADL)
» read more
