Over 50 participants from countries and territories in the WHO European Region participated in a training course on risk communication, community engagement and social science that many of these participants felt was a life changing experience.

The overwhelming feedback of many of the participants was a feeling that they would wake up on the day after the training looking differently at the way they work. When, previously, they had gone to work in their institutions or responded to emergencies, their attention to the “other”, the receiver, the beneficiary and lastly the community had not been so acute in their minds and hearts as it would be in the future. In particular, the 2-day field simulation in the Serbian Red Cross camp was an eyeopener with regard to peer support, empathy and emotional intelligence.