Completion and equipment of Crisis Management Center at the Bulgarian Ministry of Foreign Affairs
About this initiative
The initiative aims to improve the institutional capacity of the Bulgarian Ministry of Foreign Affairs (BMFA) for reaction in cases of crises/emergency and evacuation of Bulgarians or unrepresented EU citizens in distress abroad. The activities include an establishment of a long-term partnership and an exchange of good practices with the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs in the area of consular crisis preparedness and reaction. The staff of the Crisis Management Center at the BMFA will be trained and prepared to react effectively in case of occurrence of crises and evacuation. A mobile application for a crisis response will be developed and launched, which will significantly improve the technical means and the capacity of the Crisis Management Center to respond, assist or evacuate Bulgarian citizens affected by disasters abroad. A publicity campaign will increase the awareness about the benefits of using the mobile application and will provide to the potential users a manual how to work with the application.
Results achieved
The results of the project are additionally trained and qualified experts in the field of crisis activities, an exchange of experience, and the creation of a mobile application "Travel Informed", which has enjoyed an increasing number of users since its development and launch (more than 10 000 downloads so far). Numerous information campaigns were carried out (including borders, airports, universities) (visualization and publicity) to promote the application. The application itself is updated with new functionalities and upgrades, several times after its introduction into operation, and the goal is to satisfy the information needs to the maximum extent for the convenience and peace of mind of every end user. A study visit was carried out in Oslo, Norway, where a seminar for exchange of experience was held at the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Bulgarian officials were introduced to the Norwegian experience in crisis management.