The Regional Development Agency Bačka organized the final conference of the project Multisectoral approach to disasters in Osijek-Baranja County and Autonomous Province of Vojvodina – Together We Stand in the Assembly of AP Vojvodina in Novi Sad on 24 June 2022. The conference was attended by representatives of all partner institutions – Unikom d.o.o, Osijek-Baranja County, Autonomous Province of Vojvodina – Provincial Secretariat for Agriculture, Water Management and Forestry, Association for Creative Development Slap and Regional Development Agency Backa d.o.o. Novi Sad, as well as the main actors in the defense against disasters: JVP Vode Vojvodine, fire brigades from both partner countries, the Red Cross, utility companies and others.
The purpose of the conference was to present results achieved during the project. The director of the Regional Development Agency Bačka opened the event and emphasized the importance of interregional cooperation in protection against floods and other natural disasters, as well as against disasters caused by the human factor. The participants were also addressed by the Assistant Provincial Secretary of the Provincial Secretariat for Agriculture, Water Management and Forestry Ljiljana Petrović, as well as the Executive Director of JVP Vode Vojvodine Danka Vasiljević and the Chief of the Osijek-Baranja County Fire Brigade Berislav Hengl, as direct users.
The Senior Advisor for Regional Development and Strategic Planning from Osijek-Baranja County Damir Lajoš spoke on behalf of the Croatian partners about the implemented activities on the project and on behalf of the partners from Serbia Jovana Topić – Provincial Secretariat for Agriculture, Water Management and Forestry. On behalf of the leading partner Unikom ltd. Osijek Nada Kožul emphasized the importance of the project and achieved results and announced the possibility of future cooperation in the region.
The project Together We Stand aimed to integrate a cross-border, multi-sectoral approach that raises a higher level of disaster preparedness, as well as joint action in the event of major floods or accidents involving hazardous chemicals or other hazardous substances and environmental remediation through coordinated disaster and waste management using EU best practices.
Study tour to Denmark
Project partners, supporting staff and experts in the field of civil protection, firefighters and waste management visited Denmark for a five-day study tour, where they learned a lot about flood defense systems, the circular economy and environmental protection from examples of good practice with the aim to apply acquired knowledge in their field of expertise.
They first visited Odense Waste Company and their environmental center (landfill and composting plant) located in Odense, which is specialized for the recycling of waste to material, waste management, waste policy and planning, as well as waste prevention. They also visited Flood Defence Center – the world’s first testing and training center for firefighters and emergency flood defense services in the Roskilde Fire Department, where they had the opportunity to see how Danish people use No Floods Barriers to protect the fjord in Roskilde during the floods that are recurring more often during climate change.
