The seminar organized by the Valencia Agency of Security and Response to Emergencies, the University of Valencia and the SGISE was mainly aimed at students, journalists, communication professionals and emergency responders. In it, experts in communication and catastrophe intervention analysed the need of information in front of the new scenarios of vulnerability and the alert in the communication to the population as a preventive tool.

The event’s inauguration was run by Mavi Mestre, rector of the University of Valencia, and Gabriela Bravo, councillor of Justice, Interior and Public Administration. In said inauguration, they emphasized on the importance of facilitating an agile and accurate communication channel with society that works as a protection shield before the obvious dangers of the big catastrophes. Furthermore, they also highlighted the information about the management of emergencies since, according to the councillor, “it is an elementary right, it can save lives, it is an essential tool in the management of critical situations, its diffusion is a public service and our speaker before society during emergencies and it’s proper dissemination contributes to having a powerful ally in the media to inform truthfully and with full transparency about the evolution of the emergency”.

Divided in several lectures and round tables, the program lasted the entire day and covered topics like forest fires and the new challenges we are facing; the information function and the new media paradigm of the communication cabinets; the importance of the communication to transfer the service work to society or the early alert in the communication with the population.

The professor of Journalism of the University of Valencia Carolina Moreno, moderated a round table formed by experts in different real emergency cases as relevant as the volcanic eruption in La Palma, handled by the head of communication 112 in the Canary Islands; the terrorist attempts in the Rambla in Barcelona, narrated by the head of communication of Civil Protection of Catalonia; the sixth generation fires in the Valencian Community during the summer 2022, told from the point of view of the Director of Communication of Security and Emergencies, Lourdes Nadal.

The seminar closed with a second round table that started at 16:00h and was moderated by Francesc Martínez, professor of Journalism in the University of Valencia. In it, they covered topics like the importance of communication to transfer the work of service to society and the importance of the early alert in the communication with the population. Furthermore, the closing was handled by the Regional Secretary of Security and Emergency José María Ángel.