XIV INTERNATIONAL CIVIL-MILITARY COOPERATION FORUM

Codroipo, September 16th, 2021.

The XIV International Forum of civil-military cooperation (CIMIC), better known as "CIMIC Unit Commanders' Conference", took place in the historic setting of "Villa Manin" in Codroipo.

The conference, sponsored by the Friuli-Venezia Giulia Region and which brought together about 150 participants from 22 different countries in full compliance of anti-Covid regulations, represented a unique opportunity for sharing and discussion on issues related to cooperation and interaction between the civil and military components, nowadays an essential aspect to be considered and developed in all operational scenarios. The Multinational CIMIC Group (MNCG), a joint and combined military unit stationed in Motta di Livenza and lead by Colonel Mattia Zuzzi, organized the event, in coordination with the Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers in Europe (SHAPE) input, with the aim of strengthening personal and professional ties among the participants.

The objective of this year's conference was to explore the theme of " Effective Leadership: Competencies and Talents for successful CIMIC/CMI interface’", thus outlining areas of overlap between civil management and military leadership, also highlighting the differences.

In today's unpredictable operational scenarios, it is becoming increasingly difficult to draw a clear line between civilian and military threats: capabilities and roles, military and civilian, must be clearly understood in order to best coordinate all existing efforts and resources within operational scenario.

The event was attended by several guest speakers from the civil and military environment that discussed and examined the issue of leadership and managerial aspects in different working environments.

Among them there were the Assistant Chief of Staff of the Supreme Headquarters Allied Power Europe, Brigadier General Bernard Lebrun, the Lead of Capability Development at OCHA Civil-Military Coordination Service, Mr. Josef Reiterer, the President of the International Federation of the Red Cross, Dr. Francesco Rocca, the United States European Command Civil Affairs Expert, Mr. Michael Ryan, the Managing Director of Global Military Affairs at Amazon, Mr. John Quintas, the President at the University of Southern Denmark Centre for War Studies, in addition to many representatives of the United Nations, NATO and International organizations, Governmental and NGOs. To close the event, the speech of the Friuli-Venezia Giulia Security and Public Function Councillor, Dr. Pierpaolo Roberti, who said “... given the importance and the international dimension of this event, I am sure that Friuli-Venezia Giulia will benefit from positive impacts in terms of visibility, and I hope that this venue will spur a debate and exchange on topics that are very relevant for society as a whole. Civil-military cooperation, the interaction between the two components during armed conflicts and natural disasters, will become increasingly crucial. Similarly, the agreements between the parties to better define the areas of competence and responsibility will be vital".

SOURCE: Multinational CIMIC Group