“How can exchange and configuration of knowledge in civil protection be fostered?” was the main topic of the virtual workshop on improving the use of databases, e-learning and social media in civil protection. The workshop took place on November 18th and 19th 2020 as part of the WAKE project and was organized by the TH Köln/University of Applied Sciences in cooperation with the THW/Federal Agency for Technical Relief.

Well equipped with a workshop kit (see illustrations), the participants – coming from various civil protection organizations, public authorities, the private sector, and from science and research – started off into the two-day workshop. Working in interdisciplinary groups, the attendees collected and discussed practical solutions and inter-organizational needs for databases, e-learning and social media platforms.

Starting basis for the workshop in general and for the group works in particular were the challenges for civil protection in dealing with the three technical systems. These challenges had been worked out in advance in the WAKE project out of multiple experiences during the refugee situation in 2015/16 and the current corona pandemic. In addition, the agenda was completed by lectures on practical knowledge management solutions from WBI Knowledge Solutions and time4you GmbH.

Despite the length of the workshop, lasting nearly two days, and despite being held online, the cross-organizational collaboration and the collaboration with public authorities was enriching and the interaction with each another was very appreciative. In this pleasant atmosphere, many practical ideas and solutions were brought together. The findings of the workshop are available in a detailed protocol, which gladly will be provided on request.

We would like to thank the participants and the speakers most sincerely. We are looking forward to pursuing further cooperation

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