- 23. May 2024
- By:Oda Nødtvedt
Events
Successful Beredskapsdebatt: – We need to talk more together
Last night, 150 participants gathered at Sola for a debate on emergency preparedness and recilience. Proactima proudly hosted the Preparedness Debate on May 22, which marked the start of the subsequent annual Beredskapskonferansen. . On stage, the panel will discuss how society ensures the development of emergency preparedness in today’s risk picture and how we facilitate cooperation and collaboration.
– There is too much distance between the public and private sectors, and the walls are too thick between sectors and national authorities. This is one of the findings of Totalberedskapskommisjonen that needs to be addressed urgently,” said Tone Grindland, member of Totalberedskapskommisjonen and Regional Director of NHO Rogaland.
Totalberedskapskommisjonens recommendations have not yet been adopted as policy, and a White Paper is expected in the fall.
There was broad agreement in the panel that stakeholders need to talk more together. Privat sector must be included to a greater extent in the authorities’ preparedness and planning.
– Its in private sector that we find the resources and the capacity is in large volume. A thriving private sector is a prerequisite for good preparedness. That’s why Norwegian business ownership is important,” said Geir Hågen Karlsen, associate partner at Geelmuyden Kiese and former military expert.
The debate was chaired by Proactima founder and Executive Chairman Richard Heyerdahl.
It is necessary to include the business community to a greater extent in the assessment of future emergency preparedness structures that will strengthen our ability for total preparedness. A large part of the resources, both human and material, belong to private companies. In today’s security policy climate, we see that the business community is being challenged to a greater extent and bears a large part of the risk. There are also greater demands and expectations on businesses, especially those that own and manage critical infrastructure.
In Norway, we have a total defense concept, which means that the private sector must make resources available. And one of the major vulnerabilities when we talk about dimensioning events is that the actors count on resources they will not have available when the need arises. Stian Aker, group leader for emergency preparedness and crisis management at Proactima, had a clear message for the audience:
– Go home to your own business and map out which resources your company is dependent on when we get to the crisis/war spectrum and map out which ones will be available. Which resources will be allocated to the Armed Forces, volunteering or other commitments, and which resources will remain? We need to dare to be comfortable discussing what we don’t have answers to today,” said Stian Aker.
Next week, 29. May, revised advice for self-preparedness is launched where one of the main advice is that the population must be prepared to have self-preparedness for 7 days and not for 3 days as it is today.
When we meet for Beredskapsdebatten in 2025, the panel predicts that “the plan is clearer”, that cyber continues to dominate the situation and that we have more answers on the table about civil preparedness.
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This week, we are present with a stand and exhibitor space throughout. And tomorrow, Hanne Cook and Surbhi Bansal from Proactima will be on stage during the main conference, sharing their experiences of effective AI support in emergency preparedness and decision-making.
