On 7 and 8 October 2026, the official kick-off of the AWARENESS project (Awareness and Preparation of Local Authorities and Citizens Impacted by Forest Fires and Floods Nurturing Engagement for Societal Sustainability) took place in Nîmes, France. The meeting was hosted by Nîmes Métropole at B46.
The project is funded by the Horizon Europe programme and managed by the European Research Executive Agency (REA). It brings together 19 European partners, coordinated by Aerospace Valley, around one clear goal: to bridge the gap between local authorities, first responders and citizens in the face of increasingly frequent wildfire and flood risks.
An action plan built on three pillars
The action plan will be concrete and measurable, with pilots in France, Italy, Norway, Spain and Poland. It is built on three pillars:
- always-on early warning systems, with resilient communication solutions that keep working even when terrestrial networks are down;
- artificial intelligence and digital twins serving prevention, to assess vulnerabilities and simulate crisis scenarios before they happen;
- a “culture of risk” rooted in the territories, through hyperlocal data and immersive educational tools to prepare communities.
The contribution of Sintesi and the CREATEC consortium
Sintesi takes part in the project as a member of the Basilicata consortium CREATEC, together with Geocart, Openet and Digimat. The consortium will contribute to the Italian pilot in Basilicata, focused on flood risk.
The consortium partners
The AWARENESS consortium will build this lasting resilience together with: Aerospace Valley, LEOBLUE, Nîmes Métropole, Sapeurs-pompiers du Gard (SDIS 30), NORCE Research, Årdal Kommune, Norsk Folkehjelp, CREATEC, Basilicata Region, University of Basilicata, National Research Council of Italy (CNR), FUNDECYT-PCTEX, Universidad de Extremadura, Wyższa Szkoła Informatyki i Zarządzania w Rzeszowie, Municipality of Rzeszów, Powiat Ropczycko-Sędziszowski, OSP Glinik, NEREUS and Junta de Extremadura.
To find out more about the project: AWARENESS project page in the Projects section.
Funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Research Executive Agency (REA). Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them.
Find out more about the project
AWARENESS helps local authorities, first responders and citizens prepare together for wildfire and flood risks, with co-designed digital tools tested in five European territories: Nîmes (France), Extremadura (Spain), Basilicata (Italy), Årdal (Norway) and Rzeszów (Poland).
The objectives
- Strengthen local authorities’ capacity to prevent and manage emergencies, with a Decision Support dashboard based on hyperlocal data.
- Engage citizens and vulnerable groups through a two-way communication app and co-creation pathways.
- Test innovative solutions in five operational pilots.
- Spread a culture of risk across Europe, with a Replication Toolkit and recommendations for local policies.
Sintesi’s role
Sintesi S.r.l. supports businesses and public bodies in consulting, research and innovation, with Research & Development projects in digital technologies, artificial intelligence and data analysis. In AWARENESS it takes part as a member of the CREATEC consortium, active on the Basilicata pilot focused on flood risk.