HEUREKA is a project funded by the European Commission that aims at bridging across knowledge holders relevant to disaster management and humanitarian aid actors, to enhance coordination, cooperation, compatibility, and complementarity between available capacities. It will be a bridge between the different actors in the field of work, between the European Union and its Southern Neighborhood, specifically the Middle East. The project includes 9 partners from Austria, Cyprus, Palestine, and Lebanon.

The workshop included the participation of HEUREKA project’s team and partners from Jordan, Lebanon, and institutions related to disaster management and civil protection in Cyprus, Austria and a number of European countries.

The first day of the workshop included presentations about the project’s outputs and achievements. It also included discissions about several topics including disaster management, civil protection and risk assessment in relation to earthquakes, climate change, floods, and tsunamis.

Dr. Al-Debeek and Eng. Al- Jawhary presented a report prepared by the University’s Urban Planning and Disaster Risk Reduction Center. The report included an assessment of the risks in the eastern Mediterranean region, and it provided a detailed analysis on the impact of earthquakes, climate change, floods and forest fires on Lebanon, Jordan and Palestine, with an explanation of risk management issues and challenges.

The second day of the workshop included presentations and discussions about governance structure in relation to disaster management and civil protection.

The project is expected to close by the end of June, and it is expected that it will participate in the Civil Protection Forum, which will be held in Austria before the end of next June.