Refugees took part in a disaster risk training including fire extinguishing and identification of victims of trafficking exercises, marking the completion of the first phase of the first EU Refugee Training Program in situations of Emergency which took place at the Ministry of Migration and Asylum through the Recovery Fund.  

The program has already been included in the list of achievements of the Union (achievements of the Union), which traditionally accompanies the speech of the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, on the State of the Union (State of the Union). 

It is implemented by the International Organization for Migration, under the supervision of the Deputy Minister of Migration and Asylum responsible for Integration, Ms. Sofia Voultepsi, and under the operational management of the Fire Brigade, with the Brigadier General, Dr. Calliope Saini. 

With its implementation, Greece became the first and only European country to use funds from the Recovery Fund for the training of refugees and migrants, the Hellenic Fire Brigade the first in the EU to create such training protocols for third country national and IOM the first international organization to implement such an innovative training. 

Almost 400 refugees from 22 countries have taken part in the training so far, who are already creating an unprecedented integration web, increasing the level of security inside and outside facilities. Particularly interesting, is the female participation, which reached 48%, as well as the participation of people with mobility problems and people with high vulnerabilities, in the context of the National Strategy and the responsibilities of the new General Secretariat of Vulnerable Citizens and Institutional Protection. 

It is a national strategy that acquires even greater value in the uncertain international environment, as it aims to prevent ghettoization, marginalization, radicalization and delinquency, phenomena that we see plaguing many European countries. 

In the context of the strategy set by Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, border protection is combined with the protection of people and their independent living, necessary components for social cohesion. 

During the closing ceremony, the Project Coordinator Ms. Lidija Markovic, who represented the Chief of IOM mission in Greece, Mr. Gianluca Rocco, handed over to the Chief of the Fire Department, Mr. Giorgos Pournaras, the firefighting equipment that was purchased through the Recovery Fund and now passed on to the fire department. 

The success of the Program was demonstrated today during the conversation the Deputy Minister had with residents of the Katsika facility who, a few days ago, contributed decisively to extinguishing a fire inside the facility. 

At the same time, honorary plaques were awarded to the Chief of the Fire Brigade, and to the managers of the facilities of  Ritsona, G. Lelos, Schisto, T. Papakonstantinou and Malakasa, H. Christos, as well as honorary diplomas to the fire department training officers, the IOM team and the refugees themselves. 

Present at the closing ceremony was the Member of Parliament of New Democracy Mrs. Ioanna Lytrivi, who also participated in the training, the Secretary General of Migration Policy, Mr. Patroklos Georgiadis, the Secretary General for Reception of Asylum Seekers, Mr. Dimitris Iatridis, Secretary General for Vulnerable Persons & Institutional Protection, Mr. Iraklis Moskoff, the Secretary General of the Decentralized Administration of Peloponnese, Western Greece and the Ionian Sea, Mr. Dimitris Katsaros, the National Security Adviser to the Prime Minister, Professor Thanos Dokos, the Ambassador of Italy Ms. Patrizia Falcinelli, representatives of Diplomatic Missions (Austria, Bulgaria , Croatia, Poland, Portugal, Czech Republic), representatives of International Organizations (IOM, UNHCR, European Commission DG HOME, European Asylum Agency EUAA), the Secretary of Social Solidarity and Human Rights of the New Democracy, Ms. Maria Natsiou and Head of the Department of National Defense Citizen Protection and Migration of the General Secretariat of Coordination, Mr. Haris Katsoulis. 

All the integration programs of the Recovery Fund are implemented through the cooperation of the Ministry of Migration and Asylum which belongs to the portfolio of the Deputy Minister Ms. Sofia Voultepsi, along with the International Organization for Migration (IOM) and the general coordinator is the Brigadier General Dr. Calliope Saini. 

The action is implemented within the framework of the National Recovery and Resilience Plan “Greece 2.0” with funding from the European Union NextGenerationEU.