A new European project ECHO begins: Strengthening and building resilience of European communities
Europe today faces a combination of challenges that individual cities, service providers, or sectors cannot tackle alone. Rapid urbanisation, demographic changes, climate change, technological progress, and increasingly frequent and severe natural disasters and cyberattacks are putting the resilience of our infrastructures and essential services to the test. Against this backdrop, the ECHO project has officially started, bringing together leading organisations, authorities, and operators from across Europe. Together, we will co-create innovative tools, services, and strategies to strengthen the resilience of communities, infrastructures, and essential services in various European regions.
What is ECHO?
The vision of the ECHO project is to establish a pan-European resilience ecosystem – a dynamic, multi-level collaboration that strengthens the role of local and regional stakeholders while remaining aligned with national and international frameworks.
At the heart of the project is a shift from isolated and reactive approaches to integrated, collaborative, and proactive planning and resilience management. The project goes beyond focusing solely on “critical infrastructure” and recognises that essential service providers (ESPs) – such as utility companies, telecommunications operators, or local emergency services – are equally crucial for the well-being of citizens and the uninterrupted provision of services, especially in urban and peri-urban areas.
Why is ECHO different?
The project represents a true paradigm shift:
- from global to local: linking international frameworks with local needs.
- from isolated to integrated approaches: connecting critical infrastructures, emergency services, authorities, and communities.
- from assets to services: focusing on the continuity of essential services, not just infrastructure.
- from response to continuity: ensuring long-term sustainability and adaptability, not merely reacting to crises.
- from single to multi-hazard risks: addressing interconnected and cascading threats.
ECHO: Strengthening the resilience of European communities
European cities and regions are facing growing challenges – from natural disasters to cyberattacks and fast-paced urbanisation. These are complex, interlinked threats that individual organisations can no longer respond to effectively on their own. Close cooperation and joint resilience planning are required, transcending organisational, sectoral, national, and governance boundaries.
This is where the EU project ECHO comes in, establishing a pan-European resilience ecosystem. We will develop innovative digital services for threat forecasting, risk assessment, situational awareness, decision support, resilience plan evaluation, as well as training through realistic scenarios and simulations.
The solutions will be tested in four pilot sites in Slovenia, Italy, Spain, and the Italy–Slovenia cross-border region. Participants include a range of stakeholders such as municipalities with civil protection services, critical infrastructure operators, essential service providers, and first responders.
The Slovenian part of the project is led by ICS Ljubljana, with partners including Telekom Slovenije, Elektro Gorenjska, the Firefighters Association of Slovenia, and the municipalities of Jesenice and Kranjska Gora. Their role will be crucial in understanding challenges and opportunities for improvements, as well as testing and validating solutions in the Gorenjska region.
ECHO will significantly contribute to ensuring that Slovenian and European communities are better prepared, more resilient, and safer.
More about the project:
https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/101225575
Follow us on LinkedIn:
https://www.linkedin.com/company/echo-project-eu
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