CMDR COE Carried Out Fruitful Crisis Management and Disaster Response Interagency Interaction Annual Conference 2016

Date: (02-06-2016)
CMDR COE conducted its fourth annual conference for Crisis Management and Disaster Response Interagency Interaction from 31st May to 02nd June in Marinela Hotel in Sofia, Bulgaria.
The annual event brought together subject matter experts, researchers and educators, planners and developers, advisers and various actors working in the crisis management and disaster response domain in order to promote a lively debate on relevant issues.
This year, more than 110 representatives of international organizations and institutions from a total of 13 NATO and PfP nations took part in the annual event. CMDR COE was pleased to host participants from UN OCHA, ACT, JFC Naples and JFC Brunssum, NATO COEs, Land Command Turkey, ARRC UK and RRC France, the Polish Humanitarian Action, Bulgarian MFA , MOD and Ministry of Economy, Bulgarian JFC, Navy and Land Forces Command, the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, the Defense Academy "G.S. Rakovski" and the National Military University “V. Levski”, the Bulgarian Red Cross, MASA Group, Bulgarian Modeling and Simulation Association – BULSIM and IBM among others.
The conference opening address was delivered by the Deputy Minister of Defence of the Republic of Bulgaria Mr. Dimitar Kyumyurdzhiev. Mr. Kyumyurdzhiev was followed by the welcome speech of the CMDR COE Director, COL Vassil Roussinov who emphasized the importance of leadership, commitment and cooperation - the basic ingredients of any response that strives for effectiveness.
The keynote speakers of the conference were Prof. Jose Julio Gonzalez from the University of Agder, Norway and Mr. Grzegorz Gruca, vice president of the Polish Humanitarian Action.
Three ideas underlay this year’s conference as clustered in the shape of three plenary sessions.
- Lessons Learned From Disasters Relief And Humanitarian Assistance.
- Consequence Management and the Mitigation of the Natural and Manmade Disasters.
- M&S Support for Crisis and Disaster Management Processes and Climate Change Implications.
The CMDR COE is glad to announce that the main objectives of the 2016 Conference have been met. Among them were:
- To spread the knowledge concerning Lessons Identified/Lessons Learned in disasters relief and humanitarian assistance, consequence management and the ways of mitigation the effects of the natural and manmade calamities.
- To make the contacts in order to exchange ideas among the members of the crisis management community of interest.
- The researchers from different countries to have the opportunity to present their work and to share experience with other scientists working in the field of Climate change.
- To share data between researchers in different countries, cooperation between research institutes and governmental organizations, the application of hydrological and meteorological research for the planning of disaster prevention activities according implications of Climate change in military operations and disaster occurrence.
The CMDR COE staff would like to extend their gratitude for the fruitful discussion and the contribution from the participants.
News

A team from Crisis Management and Disaster Response Centre of Excellence took part in the Consequence Management Exercise CRNA GORA 2016. The exercise was conducted by the NATO’s Euro-Atlantic Disaster Response Coordination Centre (EADRCC) and the Ministry of Interior of Montenegro and took place from 31 October to 4 November 2016 in Podgorica.
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The Crisis Management and Disaster Response Centre of Excellence (CMDR COE) successfully conducted its Steering Committee Meeting for the fourth year.
The annual session was held on 25-26 October, 2016 in Sofia, Bulgaria with the participation of the National Representatives from the MOD of Republic of Bulgaria, as a Framework Nation, the Hellenic National Defence General Staff and the MOD of Republic of Poland, as Sponsoring Nations.
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SHAPE J9 CIMIC Delegation, led by ACOS J9 RADM Denis Bigot, visited the Crisis Management and Disaster Response Centre of Excellence (CMDR COE) on 11 October 2016. The aim of the duty call was acquirement with the specific CMDR COE’s mission, current status, developed capabilities and started projects. They met with Director Colonel Vassil Roussinov, CMDR COE Branch Chiefs and selected experts as presenters.
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The CMDR COE organized and conducted the first five-day iteration of Crisis Response Operations Planners Professional Development Course from 26 to 30 September 2016 in Sofia, Bulgaria.
The event aimed at providing comprehensive knowledge related to NATO Crisis Management, functioning of NATO Crisis Response System with emphasis on NATO Crisis Response Planning at operational level.
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Crisis Management and Disaster Response Centre of Excellence (CMDR COE) devotes efforts to address the importance of understanding disaster management processes and raise awareness of the latest developments related to Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) and Climate Change Adaptation (CCA).
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Crisis Management and Disaster Response Centre of Excellence supported by NATO SPS Program conducted from 5th to 7th July 2016 Climate Change Implications on Military Activities in the Balkans Region Workshop attended by participants from 17 nations: 10 NATO countries (ALB, BGR, GBR, GRC, HUN, NLD, POL, ROM, TUR and USA) and 7 NATO PfP countries (FYROM, BIH, BRA, UKR, MNE, GEO and SRB)
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The Chief of the Hellenic National Defence General Staff Admiral Evangelos Apostolakis visited the Crisis Management and Disaster Response Centre of Excellence (CMDR COE) on 1 June. He met with Director Colonel Vassil Roussinov, the Chief of Staff of the Bulgarian JFC Commodore Dimitar Yordanov, and CMDR COE Branch Chiefs.
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In the period May 31 to June 3, 2016 CMDR COE will hold two events - ANNUAL CONFERENCE INTERAGENCY INTERACTION IN CRISIS MANAGEMENT AND DISASTER RESPONSE 2016 and MSG-147 - 2ND MEETING. Both events will be broadcasted live on the Web. For those who want to join online, below are the links to the relevant events.
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The aim of the course involved the acquisition of basic knowledge related to disasters as a phenomenon, the disaster management process and its close relation to the risk management process, as well as the main players and mechanisms in disaster response.
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The South-Eastern Europe Brigade (SEEBRIG) was established in 1999 and is currently located in Larissa. The SEEBRIG consists of six NATO and Partnership for Peace (PfP) nations: Albania, Bulgaria, FYROM, Greece, Romania, and Turkey and has a purpose to promote regional stability and security in South-Eastern Europe.
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A Mobile Education and Training Team (METT), comprised of CMDR Subject Matter Experts (SMEs), conducted from 11 to 13 April 2016 a Disaster Response Operations Course at South-Eastern Europe Brigade (SEEBRIG) HQ, Larissa, Greece. Thirty five participants from SEEBRIG HQ – representatives from Albania, Bulgaria, the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia[1], Greece, Romania, and Turkey took part and successfully completed the course.
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One year after the decision of the North Atlantic Council (NAC) for the accreditation of the Crisis Management and Disaster Response Centre of Excellence, the Centre celebrates its activation as a NATO Military Body.
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The Crisis Management and Disaster Response Course took place from 21 to 25 March 2016 at the CMDR COE.
The aim of the course is to provide the attendees with basic knowledge to NATO Crisis Management fundamentals, NATO Crisis Response System, and its complementary elements - NATO Crisis Management Process, Civil Emergency Planning, and Operations Planning, as well as Disaster Response main actors.
» read more
Headquarters, Supreme Allied Commander Transformation (HQ SACT) in cooperation with the Crisis Management and Disaster Response Centre of Excellence (CMDR COE), successfully conducted the 2016 COE Legal Advisors (LEGADs) Conference in Sofia on 24-25 February 2016.
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Ministry of Interior, supported by Civil-Emergency Planning Representative at Permanent Delegation of the Republic of Bulgaria to NATO, organized and conducted from 17 to 18 February 2016 CEP Workshop: Towards Operational, Coherent and Effective Civil Crisis Response Measures.
» read more
The Euro-Atlantic Disaster Response Coordination Centre (EADRCC) in cooperation with the Crisis Management and Disaster Response Centre of Excellence (CMDR COE) conducted a Lessons Identified Conference for the EADRCC Exercise Ukraine 2015 in Sofia on 25-27 January, 2016.
» read more
You are cordially invited to attend and participate in the Kick - Off meeting of the NATO M&S Group 147 “M&S Support for Crisis and Disaster Management processes, and Climate Change implications”.
This event will take place on 17th and 18th March 2016 at the Arena Di Serdica Hotel in Sofia (Bulgaria).
» read more
CMDR COE would like to share with counterparts, collaborators and the whole crisis management and disaster response community of interest its first good news for the New 2016.
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The Training Requirements Analysis (TRA) workshop for the discipline Military role and tasks in Crisis Management/Disaster Relief was held on 13-14 January 2016 in Shipka Hotel in Sofia, Bulgaria. The workshop was attended by more than 20 participants from eight EU countries (AUT, BEL, GER, BUL, FIN, CYP, POL, ROM) and EU Military Training Group (EUMTG). The Working Group comprised experts from the Bulgarian National Defense College, other COEs, Defense Ministries and EU institutions.
» read more
CMDR COE has executed successfully from 1 to 3 December 2015, for the second consecutive time a course with the aim of providing Strategic Decision Makers with comprehensive knowledge of NATO Crisis Response Operations Planning.
» read more
CMDR COE successfully conducted the first Disaster Management Course from 17th to 19th November 2015.
During the 3-day course participants acquired basic knowledge related to disasters as a phenomenon, the disaster management process and its close relation to the risk management process, as well as the main players and mechanisms in disaster response.
» read more
CMDR COE successfully conducted for the second consecutive time the Crisis Response Operations Planners Professional Development Course from 20th to 22nd October 2015.
The aim of the course was directed at acquisition of comprehensive knowledge related to Crisis Management in NATO, functioning of NATO Crisis Response System with emphasis on NATO Crisis Response Planning at operational level.
» read more
On October 14-15, 2015, the Crisis Management and Disaster Response Centre of Excellence (CMDR COE) hosted its Steering Committee Meeting for the third year.
The annual sessions are the venue where the Framework Nation and Sponsoring Nations set out all required prerequisites to be provided by the CMDR COE every year.
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The Sofia Military Attaché Corps has paid a visit to the Crisis Management and Disaster Response COE. The attaches were familiarized with the ongoing projects objectives of the Centre and met with its staff members. Col Roussinov, CMDR COE Director presented the main activities and focused attention to their significant contribution to the enhancing of nationwide capabilities for crisis management and disaster response.
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The CMDR COE has carried out its third annual Interagency Interaction Seminar at Boyana Residence, Sofia, Bulgaria in the period 8-9 JUN 2015.
The keynote speakers of the seminar were Mr. Dimitar Kyumyurdzhiev – Deputy Minister of Defence, Mr. Guenter Bretschneider - Head of the CEPOS, IS, NATO HQ, RADM Chris Sadler - Reserve Deputy Director, Maritime Operations U.S. Fleet Forces Command and Col Vassil ROUSSINOV – CMDR COE Director.
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The CMDR COE is pleased to announce the launch of its third Interagency Interaction Seminar combined with the Urbanisation Experiment Final Coordination Conference (FCC) and Experiment Control Training Session.
The two major events are scheduled to take place at Boyana Residence, Sofia, Bulgaria in the period 8-12 JUN 2015.
The Interagency Interaction Seminar will be held over the course of two days - 8-9 JUN, 2015.
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On May 27th 2015 the Bulgarian Deputy Defence Minister, Mr. Dimitar Kyumyurdzhiev formally opened the Partnership Real time Information, Management and Exchange system (ePRIME) training course. This event is organized by the Cooperation and Regional Security Division, NATO HQ International Military Staff, led by Rear Admiral Emil Eftimov. This course is hosted by the Crisis Management and Disaster Response Center of Excellence (CMDR COE).
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The Crisis Management and Disaster Response Course was successfully conducted from 19 to 21 MAY 2015 by CMDR COE.
The aim of the course was to provide the attendees with theoretical foundations of NATO Structure and Crisis Management. In addition, the teamworks allowed the participants to apply the theoretical knowledge into practice interacting with respective NATO entities.
» read more
CMDR COE is pleased to announce that its third annual seminar for Crisis Management and Disaster Response Interagency Interaction will be held at the Boyana Residency, Sofia from Monday 8th June to Tuesday 09th June 2015.
Three ideas underlie this year seminar as clustered in the shape of three plenary sessions.
» read more