12 May NO-FEAR final conference – an interactive showcase
The NO-FEAR final conference concluded a five-year project, and brought together more than one hundred in-person and remote attendees from across its network of medical practitioners, researchers, industry and policymakers at the Warwick Hotel in Brussels. Partners reflected on the lessons and implications of NO-FEAR at the last project review and consortium meeting the previous day, before the conference served as culmination and celebration of an ambitious project. NO-FEAR straddled a global pandemic that demonstrated the value of a network communicating across the international medical arena. The climactic conference marked significant achievements across its acute care, disaster response, and training pillars. You can view a video summary here.
As well as keynote presentations on the ambitions and achievements of the project from the coordinator, partners, and guest speakers, attendees were given the opportunity to get hands-on with some of the innovative medical technology spotlighted by the project in a series of practical workshops. This audience embodied the diversity of the disaster response and emergency medicine fields, and were greeted with the debut of the final project video for an overview of the five-year journey.
In the sequence of workshops that followed, attendees practiced the donning and doffing of protective clothing, managing aggression, and the evaluation of scene safety with NO-FEAR partners and medical suppliers. They explored the Better Practice Guide and challenges of standardisation, and witnessed technological demonstrations of tourniquets, masks, and other cutting-edge medical and training equipment.
Meanwhile, in the plenary room, we heard from project coordinator Professor Francesco Della Corte and a succession of work package leaders with key headlines on the results of NO-FEAR across its emergency medicine and education elements. Sustaining and extending the network beyond the project endpoint was a central consideration, with a widespread commitment to maintaining the collaboration. In the afternoon, an expert roundtable was convened by moderator Uwe Kippnich (from PSCE and the Bavarian Red Cross). Panellists discussed the implications and future positioning of the network, and included NO-FEAR coordinator Professor Della Corte, Professor Dorit Nitzan (Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, WHO Incident Manager Ukraine), Philippe Quevauviller (DG HOME), Marie Maurey (HERA), Ida Cosentino (DG ECHO), Joanna Drogowska (DG ECHO), Maria Angela Danzi (Member of EU Parliament on the SANT committee), Paul De Raeve (Secretary General of EFN), Francesco Lorubbio (NO-FEAR project officer), and Ehab Hino (Head of European Department, Mission of Israel to the EU and NATO).
A final keynote address from Paul De Raeve followed the roundtable, and provided a passionate conclusion to the conference. Paul spoke of the impacts of capacity issues on nurses across Europe, and the need for concerted, coordinated action to ensure healthcare resilience. An engaged audience interrogated these issues here and throughout, illustrating the power of assembling such a diverse and international group of practitioners, representatives, and decision makers. Ultimately, the NO-FEAR final conference offered an energetic and positive conclusion to this project. The NO-FEAR network will remain in touch for future collaboration, and play its role guiding disaster response and emergency medicine practices in a fast-changing world.
NO-FEAR is a five-year project that brings together a network of emergency medical care practitioners, suppliers, decision and policymakers to collaborate and exchange knowledge, good practices, and lessons learned in disaster and crisis management. Our networks work together to develop a common understanding and to enhance the response to security-related incidents. The NO-FEAR project seeks to harness the rich experience of our members and leverage our network to improve the exchange of good practices and information in Europe and beyond. To join one of the NO-FEAR networks and become part of our community, sign up to our portal: https://www.no-fearproject-portal.eu.
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