A voluntary system of civil defence in Florence

Photo by Bjorn Snelders on Unsplash

ACCTING aims to understand the impact of Green Deal policies on vulnerable groups, prevent inequalities, and produce knowledge and innovations to advance behavioural change at individual and collective levels for an inclusive and equal European Green Deal. This bottom-up initiative was collected by Marina Cacace, Gabriele Olivati and Francesca Pugliese within ACCTING’s mapping of inspiring practice cases, in the Valorising local knowledge on natural hazards Research Line. Read our report on all 693 mapped initiatives.

Voluntary civil defence, Italy

In Florence, since the terrible floods in 1966, many citizens’ organisations and groups have cooperated daily with the municipal civil defence system. It is a free and organized force. It represents an extraordinary resource in terms of skills and operational capacity with more than five thousand organisations across the country. 

Valorising local knowledge and intersectional transformations

To make their action more effective, civil defence volunteers are associated with organisations, through which they share resources, knowledge, and experience. The organisations vary in size, history, approaches, and specializations. They cooperate with civil defence authorities in a wide range of activities, integrating with other structures of the civil defence system.

This initiative targets those particularly vulnerable to natural and social hazards, such as the elderly and disabled people.

Find out more here.

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