The pilot BALTinnoSEC Forum was organised in Warsaw on 27 January 2023 at the Main School of Fire Service. The forum gathered 75 participants from all BSR countries with the majority of participants coming from Poland. Three panels were organised: on influx of migrants, CBRN and natural disasters with focus on crisis and risk communication. The delegation from State Emergency Service of Ukraine shared their experiences working in the context of war:
The event gathered representatives from the national and local governments, civil protection agencies, academia, volunteer organisations, NGOs and private sector (most notably, Microsoft, ESRI were present, which is a rare occurrence in the civil security themed events in the Baltic Sea Region).
Pan-Baltic Cross-Sectoral Innovation in Societal Security (BALTinnoSEC) project, funded by the Swedish Institute, aimed to investigate the feasibility of an interface, connecting civil security actors in constellations, focused on tackling risks, specific to the Baltic Sea Region. The interface was envisioned as a problem-solving platform or a forum for regular off- & online meetings of practitioners, researchers and business, thus sharing access to the latest management solutions and technologies, cutting costs and time for all involved. Basic question that the project intended to answer was: does the Baltic Sea Region need its own cross-sectoral forum for civil security experts and if yes, what format should it be? Partners analysed existing forums & platforms (civil security events & projects) and the market of solution providers. Based on the analysis a concept of the platform was elaborated and tested in a Pilot Forum in Warsaw in January 2023.
Organisers from the National Headquarters of The State Fire Service of Poland created a promotional website with all the information about the event https://sway.office.com/3bM7YRzMDdMXOwcm?ref=Link
The Forum caught attention of the Polish media: https://polanddaily24.com/baltinnosec-pilot-forum/tech/17390
Update: On the 3rd of April 2023 the partners in the project gathered for the post-Forum evaluation. The summary of the discussion and the external evaluation of the Forum are in the Blueprint for a full-size Baltic Sea Region civil Security solution-oriented Forum:
Update 2: as the result of the Pilot Forum, Finland (Finnish Ministry of the Interior) already planned a BALTinnoSEC event as a part of the Finnish Presidency in CBSS and PA Secure Steering Group (July 2023 – June 2024)