Ionian Islands Regional Union of Municipalities workshop on civil protection for people with special needs
special needs
30 Nov 2021
/ 17:07
The event took place as part of the cross-border 4PLUS project of the INTERREG Programme, in which the National Confederation of People with Special Needs is the lead partner.
The online workshop, organised by the Ionian Islands Regional Union of Municipalities on civil protection for citizens, families and people with special needs, took place on Tuesday 23 November 2021.
The event was held as part of the cross-border 4PLUS project of the INTERREG-IPA CBC Greece-Albania 2014-2020 Programme, in which the National Confederation of People with Special Needs is the lead partner.
Representatives of organisations and services involved in civil protection issues, representatives of the Regions and Municipalities, voluntary groups and organisations, as well as associations of people with special needs from the Ionian Islands, all attended the workshop.
At the beginning of the workshop, a greeting was given by the President of the Ionian Islands Regional Union of Municipalities Alexandros Parisis.
This was followed by a presentation by the Forester and Environmentalist Triantafyllos Bouchounas on civil protection measures at home and in the family for people with special needs.
Then two new tools created specifically in the framework of the 4PLUS Project by the Ionian Islands and Western Macedonia Regional Union of Municipalities were also presented. These tools are the Citizens Registry platform and the GIS platform. Dr. Panagiotis Manetos, an expert in GIS systems, made the presentation.
These tools will contribute to the integration of people with special needs in the civil protection bodies' plans, in order to achieve the goal of an inclusive and non-discriminatory civil protection for all.
Then, Mr. Bouchounas presented the civil protection measures for special schools, while the President of the Special Needs Association ‘Poreia’, volunteer rescuer, lifeguard and Paralympic swimmer Georgios – Aggelos Sousouggelis made a presentation entitled “Citizen with special needs as an active volunteer rescuer”. The speaker, in his very important presentation, referred to practical problems and frequent mistakes, but also to solutions that can be found to overcome these problems.
This was followed by interesting opinions, especially from people with great experience and knowledge of the subject, as well as a constructive dialogue.
The Ionian Islands Regional Union of Municipalities Director Andreas Zapantis coordinated the workshop and towards the end of the event referred to the issues raised and the conclusions.
It was pointed out that in these conditions of climate crisis, civil protection is of great importance and has a key role in our everyday life. The importance of the best possible training and preparation for dealing with problems was also highlighted, as well as the importance of information from specialised staff, the coordination, the calmness and the effort to avoid panic when it comes to special schools.
Greater emphasis was given to accessibility issues and the need to respect the rights of people with special needs and mobility problems. It was also stressed how important such events are in raising awareness of an important issue. They offer useful knowledge and information but also help in communication, networking, coordination of actions and better collaboration between all bodies linked to civil protection and people with special needs.
The event was held as part of the cross-border 4PLUS project of the INTERREG-IPA CBC Greece-Albania 2014-2020 Programme, in which the National Confederation of People with Special Needs is the lead partner.
Representatives of organisations and services involved in civil protection issues, representatives of the Regions and Municipalities, voluntary groups and organisations, as well as associations of people with special needs from the Ionian Islands, all attended the workshop.
At the beginning of the workshop, a greeting was given by the President of the Ionian Islands Regional Union of Municipalities Alexandros Parisis.
This was followed by a presentation by the Forester and Environmentalist Triantafyllos Bouchounas on civil protection measures at home and in the family for people with special needs.
Then two new tools created specifically in the framework of the 4PLUS Project by the Ionian Islands and Western Macedonia Regional Union of Municipalities were also presented. These tools are the Citizens Registry platform and the GIS platform. Dr. Panagiotis Manetos, an expert in GIS systems, made the presentation.
These tools will contribute to the integration of people with special needs in the civil protection bodies' plans, in order to achieve the goal of an inclusive and non-discriminatory civil protection for all.
Then, Mr. Bouchounas presented the civil protection measures for special schools, while the President of the Special Needs Association ‘Poreia’, volunteer rescuer, lifeguard and Paralympic swimmer Georgios – Aggelos Sousouggelis made a presentation entitled “Citizen with special needs as an active volunteer rescuer”. The speaker, in his very important presentation, referred to practical problems and frequent mistakes, but also to solutions that can be found to overcome these problems.
This was followed by interesting opinions, especially from people with great experience and knowledge of the subject, as well as a constructive dialogue.
The Ionian Islands Regional Union of Municipalities Director Andreas Zapantis coordinated the workshop and towards the end of the event referred to the issues raised and the conclusions.
It was pointed out that in these conditions of climate crisis, civil protection is of great importance and has a key role in our everyday life. The importance of the best possible training and preparation for dealing with problems was also highlighted, as well as the importance of information from specialised staff, the coordination, the calmness and the effort to avoid panic when it comes to special schools.
Greater emphasis was given to accessibility issues and the need to respect the rights of people with special needs and mobility problems. It was also stressed how important such events are in raising awareness of an important issue. They offer useful knowledge and information but also help in communication, networking, coordination of actions and better collaboration between all bodies linked to civil protection and people with special needs.
