Funded by the European Union
The Insubria Center on International Security (ICIS) is pleased to announce the positive outcome of two intensive in-presence training sessions in the framework of the Project “Knowledge development and transfer of best practices on bio-safety/bio-security/bio-risk management”, which is part of the European Union Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear Risk Mitigation Centres of Excellence Initiative (EU CBRN CoE). Both training sessions took place at the premises of the “Luigi Sacco” University Hospital in Milan. The first training was held from September 22nd to 29th 2014 and involved fourteen experts from South East Asian countries (Brunei, Cambodia, Lao, Myanmar, Singapore, the Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam). The second training involved ten experts from South Eastern Europe countries (Albania, Croatia, Moldova, Republic of Macedonia and Serbia) and took place from September 29th to October 3rd 2014.
Throughout the training sessions, lectures were carried out to enhance the knowledge of participants on biosafety practices, equipment and facility building, in particular, analyzing requirements and differences among Biosafety Level 2, 3 and 4. The training sessions also included practical courses on how to use Personal Protective Equipment and visits to Biosafety Level 2 (BSL2), 3 (BSL 3) and 4 (BSL 4) Laboratories of the Sacco Hospital. The laboratories are classified according to different increasing containment standards, proportionate to hazard level of the bio-agents, grouped by international guidelines and manual such as the Laboratory Biosafety Manual (by the World Health Organisation) and the Biosafety in microbiological and Biomedical Laboratories (by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention). The visits represented an opportunity for experts to get acquainted with the high containment laboratory activities. Moreover, round tables focused on standards, certifications, guidelines and the implementation of the international standards on Laboratory Biorisk Management took place to foster discussions about these topics and biorisk management. A certificate was issued at the end of the training to experts for having successfully achieved the training goals.
These in-presence courses represent an important step towards the next phase of the project in which the National Experts who have attended the training are expected to become trainers themselves in their own countries. In light of this important step, the National Experts will be able to use the E-learning Platform, an important tool which ensures project sustainability, to disseminate knowledge and best practices on biosafety, biosecurity and biorisk management.
The EU CBRN CoE Initiative is funded by the European Union and implemented in cooperation with the United Nations Interregional Crime and Justice Research Institute (UNICRI). The initiative is developed with the technical support of relevant international and regional organisations, the EU Member States and other stakeholders through coherent and effective cooperation at national, regional and international level. The initiative involves 48 countries in 8 regions of the world.
For more information:
CBRN Centres of Excellence website:
http://www.cbrn-coe.eu/
European Commission, Instrument contributing to Stability and Peace website:
http://ec.europa.eu/dgs/fpi/what-we-do/instrument_contributing_to_stability_and_peace_en.htm
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