In Ukraine, points of invincibility have been established as locations where citizens can obtain emergency aid in the event of a failure of critical utilities such as electricity, water, or heating. They are areas where people can recharge their phones, remain warm, and get important government information about what is going on. “The points of invincibility are also highlighted by Ukraine itself as an important element in the continuation of social resistance and resilience in a war that has lasted nearly three years,” said Hannes Nagel, Head of the NGO Crisis Research Centre. “Estonia and Sweden have begun to establish a network of such points of invincibility in order to improve civilian crisis preparedness. At the same time, there is a critical need for cross-border sharing of best practices in the field, as well as the preservation of the fundamental concepts of common points of invincibility.”

The PIMA project’s goal is to bring together specialists in charge of local level points of invincibility in Estonia, Sweden, and Ukraine in order to begin developing a network to achieve the above mentioned objectives. The Ukrainian partner NGO Poruch, which has been operating in Ukraine since the beginning of the war, plays a vital role in the project, both in community centers and among the civilian population as a whole. “In the project, we are developing a concept for points of invincibility that will assist local planners and policymakers in building on worldwide best practices when establishing centres. To gain insight into this, the project will also include research, in which we will map the current state of play at the local level using case studies from three countries, highlighting both successful solutions and areas of concern,” said Mariia Tyshchenko, Director of NGO Poruch.

“One of the project’s most significant outcomes is a concept paper on points of invincibility. This concept will serve as a policy brief, but more importantly, as a tool for municipalities to better understand both starting, equipping, and operating the points, based on best practices for engaging local communities and dealing with various aspects of vulnerability, such as people with special needs, children, or the elderly,” said Tom Nilsson, Associate Professor at the Department of Global Political Studies at Malmö university.

Malmö University will be the lead partner in the PIMA project, which will carry out majority of activities during the spring and summer of 2025. The project is funded by the Swedish Institute.