The Baltic Sea Region Network of Volunteer Organisations and Authorities brings together a wide range of public sector institutions, emergency and crisis management organizations, law enforcement and internal security agencies, volunteer rescue associations, and international cooperation networks across the Baltic Sea region.

 The network includes the Estonian Ministry of the Interior, Rescue Board, and Estonian Academy of Security Sciences, the State Fire and Rescue Service of Latvia (VUGD), the Finnish Ministry of the Interior, Finnish Police, and Finnish Air Rescue Association, the Swedish Civil Protection Association, the Hamburg Fire Department and the German Federal Office of Civil Protection and Disaster Assistance (BBK), the Danish Fire and Rescue Service (LFV Danmark) and Copenhagen Police, the Nordic Council of Ministers Office in Lithuania, and various Ukrainian sectoral organizations and authorities. The network promotes knowledge exchange and enhances crisis preparedness throughout the region.

At online seminar, members of the network shared their experiences in the crisis field and discussed ways to improve volunteer engagement in disaster response. Anna-Maria Axelsson (Swedish Civil Protection Association) introduced the organization’s work and tools for involving volunteers. Mariia Tyshchenko (NGO Poruch), Tom Nilsson (Malmö University), and Anne-May Nagel (Crisis Research Center) presented the PIMA Project, focusing on multi-level community adaptation in crises. Sami Kinnunen (Finnish Air Rescue Association) spoke about operational systems and data use in rescue operations.

The discussion centered on digital systems for volunteer engagement in disaster response across different countries. Participants examined the effectiveness of existing systems and explored what functionalities a new digital platform or app should include to enhance cooperation between authorities and civil society organizations.

Photo: online-seminar meeting (Mark P./Pexels, 2021).

The lead partner of the PIMA project is Malmö University, and the project’s active activities will take place during the spring-summer period of 2025. The project is funded by the Swedish Institute.