The AWARENESS project officially launched with a two-day kick-off meeting in Nîmes, bringing together project partners to align on objectives, activities and priorities for the months ahead. Aerospace Valley from the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region (NEREUS member) is the coordinator.
What is AWARENESS?
AWARENESS (HORIZON-CL3-2025-01-DRS-01) aims to co-create, validate and promote an innovative, user-centred suite of tools and methodologies that empower Regional and Local Authorities (RLAs) and citizens to strengthen their collective resilience to wildfires and floods. By combining innovative solutions, space-based services and local knowledge, the project seeks to support more effective disaster preparedness and risk management.
Highlights of the meeting
The kick-off meeting provided an opportunity to introduce the consortium, review the six work packages and establish a shared understanding of the project’s objectives and upcoming activities. Discussions addressed needs analysis and co-creation, the development of innovative tools, their demonstration and validation across five pilot sites, and the project’s longer-term sustainability, policy impact and dissemination. Visits to the SDIS30 fire and rescue service and the Civil Security Base in Nîmes further connected the project’s objectives with operational civil protection activities.
NEREUS: Connecting regional needs with European priorities
NEREUS will play a key role in connecting regional and local needs with European policy priorities. Its contribution will focus on strengthening dialogue with users and stakeholders, consolidating their perspectives and identifying the barriers and enablers affecting the uptake of space-based services in regional development policies.
By facilitating exchanges between regional authorities, practitioners and project partners, NEREUS will help translate real-world needs into practical policy recommendations and support their dissemination across its European network.
At the heart of AWARENESS is meaningful user dialogue: ensuring that the tools developed respond to the needs of the people and authorities who will use them, ultimately helping communities become better prepared for wildfires and floods.
