On 20 January 2026, the Digital Rural project organised the 8th Interregional Learning Event (ILE8), hosted online by the Faculty of Electrical Engineering, University of Ljubljana. The event focused on Emergency Response and Communication in Crisis Situations and brought together project partners and external stakeholders from several European regions.
The topic was selected in response to concerns raised by project partners who have recently experienced emergency situations in their local environments or expressed growing concern about preparedness in light of increasing climate-related and other risks. Effective and resilient communication systems were identified as a key challenge for local and regional authorities.
A concrete case study was presented by Mag Romana Lesjak, Mayor of the Municipality of Črna na Koroškem, who shared lessons learned from the 2023 floods, when landslides cut off all access routes, leaving the municipality completely isolated for days.
The technological and systemic perspective was addressed by Dr Emilija Stojmenova Duh (Faculty of Electrical Engineering, University of Ljubljana), who presented an overview of communication technologies for emergency response, including cell broadcast systems, public alerting solutions and alternative communication channels in the event of network failure. “Modern technologies, particularly cell-broadcast systems, are essential to reach the population rapidly and inclusively,” she emphasised.
The event attracted more than 50 participants and contributed to the exchange of good practices among regions and supported the overall objectives of the Digital Rural project by addressing real challenges faced by local and regional actors.
