Nimes Metropole’s EU Projects Manager Mr. Iason Senekkis, appeared on Alpha TV Cyprus, a nationwide Cypriot channel, on Friday 28 March 2025 to present SEMEDFIRE’s latest actions.
The interview during Alpha TV’s daily news morning show “Alpha Enimerosi“, presented by one of the island’s most influential journalists and TV hosts, Katia Savva, was arranged after the project’s latest actions in Cyprus and France. Mr. Senekkis gave a brief, but detailed update, on the four knowledge exchange visits and hands-on-trainings that took place between October 2024 and March 2025.
Starting with October 2024, the two French Advanced Partners, the General Directorate for Civil Protection and Crisis Management (DGSCGC) and Nimes Metropole, welcomed a delegation from the European University Cyprus (EUC) and CERIDES for the first project exchange visit between France and Cyprus.
Less than two months later, the project teams of the French Advanced Partners visited Cyprus, where they participated in the Nicosia Risk Forum 2024.
In February 2025, the DGSCGC and Nimes Metropole project teams, supported by an expert trainer from ENTENTE-VALABRE in France, visited Cyprus and organised a hands-on-training event in Nicosia and EUC premises. The event drew significant attention by local stakeholders and the French Embassy in Nicosia. This resulted to an impressive participation of Cyprus local authorities and fire management stakeholders, Jordanian Civil Protection Directorate representatives, Greek Canadair pilots from the Greek Air Force and officers from the Fire Service of the British Sovereign Bases Area in Cyprus.
In March 2025, the Pau Costa Foundation project team, following up on their exchange visit in October 2024, visited Cyprus where they organised a training on prescribed burning for EUC and local authorities. The training again drew the attention of the local press, as it was the first time local authorities were trained to implement the specific type of prevention, land management and ecosystem restoration measure.
Lastly, Mr. Senekkis spoke about the last exchange visit scheduled in SEMEDFIRE. The French Advanced Partners are currently preparing a training and field exercise in Nimes, France with the participation of an EUC delegation, Cyprus fire management authorities and Greek Canadair pilots. The training is scheduled to take place in ENTENTE-VALABRE simulators training centre in the Aerial Base of the French Civil Protection in the airport of Nimes. A round of presentations and table-top training will take place in Nimes Metropole’s huB.46 building in the perimeter of the airport. Also, a small scale field exercise will take place in the area of Generac, who suffered from a large fire in 2019 in order for the visiting delegations to be made aware of the lessons learned from the specific tragedy and have a hands-on viewing of the measures that are currently in place in the area to restore the ecosystem and prevent future fires.
After the completion of the scheduled visits in May 2025, the project will enter its last 6 months, as it is projected to finish on the 30th of November 2025. During the last period, project teams are expected to produced the final deliverables, based on the data, results and conclusions of the project’s actions. Deliverables include strategies for fire management, community engagement and interagency interoperability in Cyprus. In addition to the deliverables, the project is expected to publish peer reviewed scientific publications and conference papers.
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