During the first week of December 2014, the Swedish Institute – in collaboration with the Council of the Baltic Sea States (CBSS) and the Swedish Civil Contingencies Agency (MSB) – invited 25 high-level professionals from the field of Civil Protection to the Baltic Leadership Programme in Civil Protection for Future Decision Makers in Tallinn.
The participants, representing all CBSS Member States, spent four days exchanging their personal experiences and processes of their work, aiming to share their knowledge and learn about best practices from other countries. The agenda included scenario based group work and tabletop exercises, designed by the Crisis Management Research and Training department (CRISMART) of the Swedish Defense College, as well as workshops and presentations given by representatives of the European Commission, government agencies or project leaders, all dedicated to Civil Security.
Welcoming remarks were given by Helena Lindberg, Director General at the Swedish Civil Contingencies Agency, and Hannes Kont, Deputy Secretary General at the Estonian Ministry of Interior, before they joined a panel discussion on the foundations for regional cooperation of societal security, emphasising the added value of knowledge exchange and cooperation mechanisms in the Baltic Sea Region. Furthermore, a number of presentations were given by opinion leaders in the field, such as Ian Clark, Head of Unit, DG ECHO, European Commission, and Alyson Bailes, former Director of the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI).