In Kyiv, a two-day forum "Humanitarian Architecture and Civil Protection Development in Ukraine" was held, organized by the Ukrainian Red Cross in partnership with the State Emergency Service of Ukraine.
The forum became an important practical step towards ensuring reliable civil protection — it brought together representatives of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine and other state bodies, scientists, international partners, and civil society to strengthen the national response capacity to emergencies, enhance cooperation among all stakeholders in civil protection matters, primarily for the affected civilian population.
The Deputy Head of the Donetsk Regional State Administration, Ihor Boiko, participated in the two-day event.
The General Director of the Ukrainian Red Cross, Maksym Dotsenko, addressing the forum participants, noted:
“Since the beginning of the full-scale invasion, the Ukrainian Red Cross has transformed from a humanitarian aid provider to a strategic partner of the state in the field of civil protection. Today we are the only humanitarian organization officially integrated into the Unified State Civil Protection System. Joint activities and responses with the SES are already being implemented in 14 regions, and we have plans for further development. Together with the SES and the All-Ukrainian Association of United Territorial Communities, we are combining our efforts to enhance the capacity of communities.”
The Deputy Head of the SES, Volodymyr Demchuk, emphasized that the synergy of state structures and the public sector allows for not competing but complementing each other in responding to emergencies. “This is a European approach that shows that without the participation of public organizations and volunteers, effective response is impossible,” Volodymyr Demchuk stressed. “Together with the Ukrainian Red Cross, we are forming such a resilient and coordinated system.”
Emphasizing the importance of the issues discussed during the event "Humanitarian Architecture and Civil Protection Development in Ukraine," the Deputy Head of the Donetsk Region, Ihor Boiko, noted:
“Together with all the forum participants, I am positively impressed by how this event took place, how it was organized thanks to the joint efforts of the Ukrainian Red Cross and the SES of Ukraine. The issues discussed at the forum regarding civil protection are extremely relevant today. And the main message concerns the role and place of public humanitarian organizations in the civil protection system — both locally and nationally. The leitmotif of the forum became the slogans that accurately reflect the mission of civil protection: Prevent — that is, to prevent the occurrence of any emergency situation; Inform the population — if, God forbid, such a situation occurs; Respond — uniting all available civil protection forces in response to the threat; Save people who are caught in the epicenter of the disaster and face danger to their lives and health; Evacuate people, in case of threat, to safer places; Eliminate the consequences of the emergency situation that has arisen. And let us not forget that we still have a mission — to help. These are the tasks we continuously address in the context of the ongoing evacuation of the civilian population. And in each of these areas of activity, the importance of international partners and humanitarian public organizations, which perform significant joint work, is growing. The state creates the foundation, and the rest of the institutions join in and play a truly invaluable role. Therefore, based on the forum and the discussions that took place, we will activate further activities, with care for the future of Ukraine.”
The forum confirmed: only through partnership between the state, communities, and the public sector can an effective civil protection system be achieved. The Ukrainian Red Cross and the SES are combining efforts for the safe future of every community.
As a result of the forum, priority areas for further actions in the field of civil protection have been identified.