DA 2020: Activity Report of Tore Eriksson, CTIF President 2012 - 2020
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President’s report October 2020
Dear friends, dear colleagues,
Now we are ending the 2019-20 year’s CTIF activities. For the first time in recent decades we have been hit by a world-wide pandemic, Corona Covid 19. It has totally changed our realities, work, living, holiday trips, all types of travelling and mobility and basically in all areas of our societies.
We, the CTIF, was forced to cancel our normal physical annual Delegate’s Conference, we also had to cancel all our committee meetings. I hope everybody understands the necessity for that.
Here in Europe most countries make up their own rules and regulations and often changes them without communication even with the neighbouring countries or even with their own population.
For an organisation like CTIF, it has been impossible for us to adapt to this always changing situation and because of that we have thought it is not logical to arrange physical meetings at all.
The CTIF Executive Committee had already in 2019 started to use the Internet to be able to stay in contact more frequently and also to be able to work between the physical meetings. We expanded the possibilities with the internet conference system we selected and we have tried to encourage commissions also to use this technology to keep in contact and to do some work until it is possible to meet again. Several commissions have done so, and the feedback we have received has so far been quite positive.
I believe it is important to increase these activities and I hope more groups will try it.
At the moment nobody knows when or if the Corona will end and when the situation will come back to normal.
I am happy that all the member countries, have approved our proposal to hold a virtual Delegate’s Assembly and most have also joined our test-training events. This very first virtual CTIF Delegate’s Conference will take place later this month.
The CTIF is a network to share experiences and improve knowledge, develop methods and to avoid the same things needing to be reinvented everywhere, over and over again.
I believe it is specifically important to exercise, integrate and update older knowledge, also when new techniques and methods come into fashion.
In several of our countries I think Basic Firemanship should be highlighted and updated again.
The CTIF participates in various projects, like developments run by the EU and by other actors. Some national members are also developing new knowledge and methods and they are very willing to share their discoveries. There are many good examples in the world of CTIF. This is an important element that can drive the Fire and Rescue Services forward.
Agreements with other organisations to cooperate, so called Memorandums Of Understanding, MOUs: We have during recent years established several such agreements and some of them have been very successful, whilst a few have not yet worked quite as well.
It is clear to me that there needs to be a clear and shared vision of the goals and a time-table for the cooperation on both sides if there shall be visible results and satisfaction on both sides as an outcome. I believe the key word for the future is showing respect from both sides and perhaps also doing an analysis of the status of the above mentioned.
Connected to the MOUs are often also written commitments of what we have agreed to do and what shall be accomplished. The Corona Pandemic has made some of these agreements difficult to fulfill at least for the moment.
One thing that really is sad is that the seminar that we planned for this autumn had to be cancelled. Our idea was to gather the leaders from all commissions and working-groups for a weekend seminar to work with the strategies for the future of CTIF. It was unfortunately cancelled because of the Corona.
I also believe it would be great to increase the cooperation with both the Ordinary members and the Associate members in between the annual Delegate’s Assemblies. CTIF should always remember that the National Committees are the real decision-makers in CTIF, but also those that can distribute knowledge and start activities in our member countries. Without strong working National Committees, the results will not reach the local Fire Services.
Finally I want to thank everybody for great work, the colleagues in EC, the National Committees, the Commissions, the CTIF Office, the Associated Members and everybody else who has been working hard for a better CTIF. We have to continue to work for a safer, more skilled Fire and Rescue Service to get safer citizens.
I am really proud for having been trusted for two periods as president and having been able to work together with all of you during these years.
Best regards!