Attended the COST Action AlertHub Meeting in Cologne, Germany! 🌍🚨
I had the opportunity to participate in the COST Action AlertHub meeting in Cologne, Germany, on February 25–26, 2025. This event brought together experts in disaster risk management, early warning systems, and crisis communication to discuss innovative approaches, ongoing challenges, and future research directions.
The agenda covered a range of critical topics, including:
✅ Warning processes in Germany – insights and challenges from both social science and technical perspectives
✅ Roles and challenges in disaster and emergency warnings – perspectives from ARD (Germany)
✅ Turning failures into lessons for flood risk communication – case study from recent flood events in Spain
✅ Working group discussions – defining strategic research directions, planned activities, and collaboration structures
During the meeting, we also discussed the development of an open-access knowledge platform for improving the accessibility of research findings and best practices in early warning systems. Additionally, the role of an Ethics Board in disaster communication and data sharing was explored, emphasizing the importance of responsible and transparent decision-making.
Another key topic was the enhancement of internal communication within AlertHub, ensuring that knowledge exchange and collaboration among researchers, policymakers, and practitioners remain efficient and impactful. The Management Committee also voted on leadership positions and delegated further decision-making processes to the Core Group to streamline future actions.
📍 The event was hosted at Macromedia University of Applied Sciences in Cologne, with local organization by Florian Meissner.
This meeting reinforced the importance of collaborative, interdisciplinary approaches in disaster risk management and early warning. The insights gained will undoubtedly contribute to shaping more resilient and effective warning systems across Europe and beyond.
Looking forward to continuing these discussions and applying the knowledge gained to future research and practical applications!
