The 7th FirEUrisk Plenary, held in Athens March 5-7, offered ISIG the opportunity to do field work in the Rafina-Pikermi area, a municipality in the Attica Region deeply affected by the 2018 Mati fire.
From our perspective, recovering from such a devastating event-which claimed 104 human lives and caused extensive ecological and economic damage-means above all rebuilding bonds of trust and cooperation between institutions and citizens stronger than before. This is why we are very proud to have facilitated, with the assistance of AUTh, DEMOKRITOS and KEMEA, a workshop entitled “Participatory Approaches in Fire Risk Reduction” that involved stakeholders at the local level.
Municipal and Ministry officials, emergency workers, and active citizens in the area gathered at the Rafina-Pikermi Municipality headquarters to exchange perspectives and ideas on how to involve local communities in the entire fire risk management cycle. Together, they identified priority actions to be included in local fire prevention strategies.
We believe this is a crucial initial step toward establishing a shared approach to effectively mitigate, prevent, and manage fire risk. This is particularly significant in a context increasingly marked by extreme weather conditions exacerbated by climate change.
