From territorial monitoring to forecasting natural phenomena, from scientific research to field activities: civil protection is the result of shared efforts involving different areas of expertise, tools and professionals, working together to understand risks, anticipate impacts and protect communities.
This is the guiding principle behind Civil Protection Pathways (Percorsi di protezione civile), a thematic village taking place in Piazza di Siena, Villa Borghese, Rome, from 15 to 18 October, as part of the eighth edition of the National Civil Protection Week. Over four days, members of the public, families, schools and universities will have the opportunity to learn more about the activities of the National Civil Protection Service through demonstrations, hands-on activities and meetings with the organisations that contribute every day to risk prevention and management.
CIMA Research Foundation is taking part alongside the other Competence Centres, bringing its experience in scientific research applied to risk management and in the development of tools supporting civil protection activities. This is an opportunity to showcase not only the technologies and methods used, but also the value of joint efforts between the scientific community, institutions and operational structures.
Different Experiences, One System
The National Civil Protection Service is a complex network made up of organisations with different responsibilities, knowledge and areas of expertise. Coordination between these components is essential to address complex risks, which require the integration of knowledge of the territory, operational capabilities, scientific information and technological tools.
Within this system, Competence Centres contribute specialised knowledge and research findings, developing methods and tools to support forecasting, monitoring and prevention activities. Dialogue with institutions and those working on the ground makes it possible to translate this knowledge into information that can inform decision-making processes, taking into account the practical needs of communities and the specific characteristics of different risk scenarios.
“For us, being a Competence Centre means putting research at the service of risk management and helping to develop responses through dialogue with institutions and the involvement of communities. To truly understand the risks affecting a territory, data and models alone are not enough: it is also important to listen to the people who live there, know its characteristics and express its needs and priorities. It is through the meeting of scientific knowledge, operational expertise and people’s experiences that more effective tools and strategies can be developed to address climate-related challenges,” says Luca Ferraris, President of CIMA Research Foundation.
Civil Protection Pathways offers an opportunity to discover this diversity of contributions first-hand. Alongside the stands hosted by the Competence Centres, the programme includes training sessions for the main state universities in Rome (Sapienza University of Rome, Roma Tre University and the University of Rome Tor Vergata), as well as a dedicated space for the Competence Centres’ UAS network, which carries out observation, surveying and technical-scientific support activities using remotely piloted systems.
From Research to Tools for Understanding and Addressing Risks
At the village, CIMA Research Foundation’s stand offers an interactive journey focusing on hydrogeological and hydraulic risks and wildfires, illustrating how scientific research and the technologies used in operational activities contribute to forecasting and monitoring natural phenomena and support the decision-making processes of the Civil Protection System.
Through simulations and tools actually used in operational activities, visitors will be able to put themselves to the test and discover how scientific information is translated into useful guidance to protect territories and communities.
For wildfire risk, visitors will be able to experience some of the activities carried out by a Regional Operations Room, using the RISICO model to assess danger conditions and the PROPAGATOR software to simulate how a fire spreads. For hydrogeological and hydraulic risks, the myDewetra platform and a physical scale model of a Genoese river basin1, featuring a flood simulation, will allow visitors to observe how flooding develops in an urban environment and explore the role of forecasting models in risk management. A remotely piloted aircraft used by the Foundation to conduct surveys supporting emergency management will also be on display.
The journey will also feature an online game that challenges players to make decisions in a wildfire scenario simulated using the PROPAGATOR model. In a fictional territory, with six villages under threat and limited resources, participants will have to set intervention priorities, organise the defence of populated areas, and decide when to issue early warnings to families and order evacuations. Comparing the outcome of their choices with that of a scenario in which no intervention is taken will encourage reflection on the consequences of decisions and the importance of coordinating available resources.
CIMA will also contribute to training sessions for universities in Rome, with presentations exploring different applications of scientific and technological research to risk mitigation: from the use of drones to monitor landslides to digital twins for hydrogeological risk management, from agentic artificial intelligence to support operational scenarios in the event of wildfires to satellite technologies for monitoring reservoir extent and contributing to the assessment of water availability.
These different topics highlight a central aspect of the relationship between research and civil protection: the ability to bring together disciplines, technologies and expertise to address practical needs.
Training, in this sense, provides a further opportunity for knowledge-sharing. Introducing university students to these tools helps them understand the scientific and technological foundations underpinning many civil protection activities, while also fostering a better understanding of the links between research, prevention and emergency management.
Building a Culture of Prevention Together
Civil Protection Pathways takes place as part of the National Civil Protection Week, an initiative that promotes awareness of the National Civil Protection Service and fosters a culture of prevention every year. The event also forms part of the programme marking the International Day for Disaster Risk Reduction, observed on 13 October.
The village in Rome is also an opportunity to bring the public closer to the people, organisations and expertise that contribute to the country’s safety. Getting to know these organisations helps people better understand how the system works and why prevention requires a shared commitment involving institutions, the scientific community, operational structures, volunteers and the public.
The ability to work together is one of the key strengths of civil protection: integrating knowledge and resources, sharing experiences and turning each component’s contribution into a collective capacity to address risks. This is an ongoing effort that starts with understanding natural phenomena and the territory, and develops through cooperation before, during and after emergencies.
- The three-dimensional scale model of the Bisagno stream and Rio Fereggiano in Genoa makes it possible to observe rainfall behaviour and the evolution of flooding in small catchments, based on the dynamics of the flood that struck Genoa on 4 November 2011. ↩︎