On January 13, 2026, we participated in the 14th National Practical-Technical Workshops “Civil Protection and Civil Defense – Current State and Practical Implementation Recommendations.” The event was organized in an online format on the ClickMeeting platform.
Practical Implementation After One Year of the Act
The event was scheduled on the first anniversary of the entry into force of the Civil Protection and Civil Defense Act, which provided a natural opportunity to summarize the actions taken so far and exchange experiences from the practical functioning of the system. During the workshops, we had the opportunity to gain knowledge on key issues related to civil protection: the state of legislation and organization of the CPaCD system, the roadmap of tasks for 2026, practical aspects of warning and alerting the population, standards for constructing and using collective protection facilities, and procedures for evacuating people with special needs. The program also covered issues of financing CPaCD tasks, preparing applications to voivodes, and recommendations for planning and implementing training and exercises.
Resilience as a Priority of NATO DEEP eAcademy
The event was held under the patronage of Dr. hab. Piotr Gawliczek, Prof. UWM, Director of NATO DEEP eAcademy. Opening the workshops, he stated:
I have the honor to welcome you on behalf of NATO DEEP eAcademy to the 14th workshops, where we are meeting at a special moment — on the first anniversary of the Civil Protection and Civil Defense Act coming into force. This is a good time to move from “what the regulations require” to “what works in practice,” and above all: how to build a system that is coherent, viable, and resilient. From the perspective of NATO and DEEP, the key concept today is resilience — understood as the ability of the state and society to prepare, survive, and quickly return to normal functioning in crisis situations. Resilience is not an abstraction. It is built by concrete elements: well-defined roles and responsibilities, interoperability of institutions and procedures, warning and alerting, protective infrastructure, continuous cooperation between administration, services, the private sector, and society.
That is why today’s topic is so important: it touches not only on legislation, but above all on implementation in 2026 — from the roadmap of CPaCD tasks, through warning and alerting, protective structures and evacuation, to financing and organizing training and exercises. This practical perspective aligns with the mission of NATO DEEP: to support the development of competencies, standards, and quality of education for security, as well as the exchange of experiences between communities. I want to emphasize clearly: in the conditions of the contemporary security environment, civil protection becomes a common cause — not just of one institution or one level of administration. The effectiveness of the system depends on whether we can act together — clearly, quickly, and based on proven procedures. I thank the organizers and partners supporting this initiative – your presence and the scale of interest show that the need for practical solutions is enormous today. I wish you very productive workshops: concrete conclusions, valuable questions, and recommendations that can be implemented “starting tomorrow” — in offices, institutions, organizations, and companies. Thank you for your attention and I hand over to the speakers.
Our Commitment to Competency Development
A total of 1,253 participants took part in this year’s edition of the workshops, completing the training program and receiving confirmation of participation.
Our presence at this event aligns with our strategy of supporting competency development in the field of security and building relationships with the community of specialists involved in civil protection and civil defense.
The online format provided us with access to current expert knowledge and observation of the development directions of the CPaCD system in Poland, which constitutes an important element of the educational activities conducted by IBIES in the field of security.