WASHINGTON -- FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell discussed the importance of disaster resilient communities with European crisis management leaders in Brussels last week.
Partnerships with the international disaster community provide vital learning opportunities. By sharing lessons learned, all parties are better able to posture themselves for future events, thereby protecting their citizens and infrastructure. Resilience techniques are particularly important points of collaboration since their real-world efficacy can be compared, tested and reinforced.
“If the past two years of the pandemic have taught us anything, it’s that we’re all in this together,” Criswell said while speaking at the Network of Directors-General of the European Crisis Center. “The partnerships we are forging in this room today are part of our strong global crisis management system. Together, we build the resilience of our nations by recognizing the interdependencies that exist between us.”
To demonstrate this commitment to this international collaboration, Criswell signed a Protocol of Cooperation with the Belgian National Crisis Centre. The protocol formalizes bilateral crisis management cooperation between FEMA and the Centre.
During her trip, Criswell also met with the Directorate-General for European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations, the European Commission’s department for overseas humanitarian aid and civil protection. There she discussed crisis response efforts with her European counterparts. She also toured their response center, finding similarities between it and the FEMA National Response Coordination Center.
Administrator Criswell also met with leadership at the U.S. Mission to North Atlantic Treaty Organization and NATO’s Deputy Secretary General Mircea Geoana. Their discussions focused on the evolving nature of resilience and the importance of FEMA’s crisis management expertise to advancing shared priorities.
You can read Administrator Criswell’s full remarks to the Network of Directors-General of the European Crisis Center and her remarks on approaches to crisis management on FEMA.gov.
BRUSSELS -- FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell is welcomed to Brussels by the U.S. Ambassador to Belgium Michael Adler. (Photo by FEMA photographer)
BRUSSELS -- FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell (center left) speaks with North Atlantic Treaty Organization Deputy Secretary General Mircea Geoana (across from Criswell) on the evolving nature of resilience with European crisis management counterparts. (Photo by NATO photographer)
BRUSSELS -- FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell provides a keynote address at the Network of Directors-General of the European Crisis Centre. Her remarks focused on resilience, international collaboration and strengthening industry. (Photo by FEMA photographer)