CURSOR partner HRT (Hellenic Rescue Team) Attica won an ISCRAM award in the category Best Practitioner/Insight Paper. The Athens based institution HRT Attica was awarded for the paper “Emergency Response in Recent Urban/Suburban Disaster Events in Attica: Technology Gaps, Limitations and Lessons Learned” by Spyros Chrysanthopoulos, Theofanis Kapetanakis, Giannis Chaidemenos, Stelios Vernardos, Harris Georgiou and Claudio Rossi. The authors outline necessary First Responder operations in the case of a flash flood and a wildfire.

HRT Attica is an independent, non-profit organisation run by volunteers who offer their time, expertise and knowledge to help fellow citizens in case of an emergency.

ISCRAM stands for Information Systems for Crisis Response and Management, and has been first used in 2004. The ISCRAM Association’s primary mission is to foster a community dedicated to promoting research and development, exchange of knowledge and deployment of information systems for crisis management, including the social, technical and practical aspects of all information and communication systems used or to be used in all phases of management of emergencies, disasters and crises.

Website HRT Attica

HRT Attica on Twitter

ISCRAM Digital Library

On 4 May the European Union joined forces with global partners to kick-start the Coronavirus Global Response, a worldwide pledging effort to raise 7.5 billion Euro of funding to rapidly develop and deploy universally available and affordable diagnostics, treatments and vaccines against the coronavirus. The opening event already raised 7.4 billion Euro, which marks the role of research and innovation in the worldwide pledging marathon, which will continue in the following weeks.

To help reach the objectives of the Coronavirus Global Response, 1 billion Euro will be mobilised under the EU’s flagship programme for research and innovation, Horizon 2020, wich CURSOR is funded under. The 1 billion Euro from Horizon 2020 can be broken down in:

• 450 Euro million for developing scientific solutions for testing, treating and preventing against the coronavirus and developing health systems
• 400 Euro million EC guarantee of the European Investment Bank lending to finance precommercial stage investments in COVID-19 research and development (including scale up of production facilities)
• 150 Euro million for disruptive innovations on COVID-19 under the European Innovation Council’s Accelerator

The Commission has been launching several specific Research and Innovation (R&I) actions through Horizon 2020 since the beginning of the current crisis. These actions address epidemiology, preparedness and response to outbreaks, the development of diagnostics, treatments and vaccines, as well as the infrastructures and resources that enable these R&I activities. In order to accelerate the development of vaccines, new treatments, diagnostic tests and reinforce medical systems in the fight against the coronavirus, it is important to further step up the mobilisation of funds under Horizon 2020 in order to contribute to the Global Response pledging marathon launched on 4 May 2020.

Video: EU Research and Innovation: United against Coronavirus

Official Twitter account of the European Commission

Official Twitter account of DG Research & Innovation

The CURSOR consortium successfully closed the Steering Committee meeting, which was held from 4 to 6 March. The meeting took place on the premises of project partner ARTTIC in Munich, Germany. The overall progress in all work packages was examined and challenges ahead were discussed. The lively discussions went on even during a dinner at a traditional Bavarian restaurant at the heart of Munich city centre.