Pedro Sánchez sets Spain as a benchmark by making the culture of emergency and civil protection training compulsory in non-university education

The President of the Government of Spain presented, at the Fernando Zóbel Secondary School in Cuenca, the Civil Protection Emergency Training Plan for schools, which will be rolled out in 25,000 centres and will reach 8 million students.

Fernando Zóbel Secondary School, Cuenca

The President of the Government of Spain, Pedro Sánchez, the President of Castilla-La Mancha, Emiliano García-Page, and the Minister for Education, Vocational Training and Sports, Pilar Alegría, attend an emergency response simulation (Pool Moncloa/Borja Puig de la Bellacasa)

The President of the Government of Spain, Pedro Sánchez, presented the Civil Protection Emergency Training Plan for non-university education centres at the Fernando Zóbel Secondary School in Cuenca. The objectives of this plan, approved last June, form part of the ten priorities of the State Pact on Climate Emergencies, promoted by the Executive, to foster a civic culture of prevention and reaction to climate emergencies and disasters.

Sánchez highlighted the fact that, with this plan, Spain is making the culture of emergency and civil protection training compulsory in non-university education, which makes us a benchmark in this area. In the face of the climate emergency, "there are issues that transcend ideology," he said. "If we want to improve public safety in civil protection emergencies", he called once again for "emergency and civil protection policies to become state policies".

Pedro Sánchez was accompanied by the Minister for Home Affairs, Fernando Grande-Marlaska; the Minister for Education, Vocational Training and Sports and Government Spokesperson, Pilar Alegría; the President of the Regional Government of Castilla-La Mancha, Emiliano García-Page; and the Government Delegate in Castilla La Mancha, Milagros Tolón.

Consensus and participation of all institutions

The President of the Government of Spain, Pedro Sánchez speaks with a Civil Protection officer| Pool Moncloa/Borja Puig de la Bellacasa

The president stressed that this Plan, which will be rolled out in 25,000 education centres, reaching 8 million students, has the agreement, consensus and active participation of all the institutions, of all the operators working in civil protection: "It has the participation of the Ministry of Education and Vocational Training, the Ministry of Home Affairs, the autonomous communities and, of course, the Spanish Federation of Municipalities and Provinces.

The Plan, with pioneering and innovative content, developed by civil protection specialists and the Ministry of Education, will prepare children and young people to respond as best as possible to situations "clearly exacerbated by the climate emergency", the President of the Government of Spain warned, so "it was clear that we also need the civic culture and human security of the population as a whole". In this regard, he recalled the DANA which a year ago also affected Castilla-La Mancha, with 7 deaths in Letur (Albacete) and caused serious damage in Cuenca, in Mira, and the recent fires in Spain, which have also affected Castilla-La Mancha.

Sánchez insisted on the need to reach a State Pact to tackle the Climate Emergency. "Let us put aside ideological questions, let us listen to reason, science and common sense", he said, and asked that "the general interest be put before any other type of legitimate interest in democracy, whether it be partisan or ideological". "The aim of the Government of Spain when it proposes this State Pact" is "to convert what is common sense, which are emergency policies and the fight against climate change, into State policies", he said.

"All the administrations have to take a long look at what the preservation of our heritage and biodiversity represents," he stressed.

Advancing the culture of civil protection

The President of the Government of Spain, Pedro Sánchez, speaks with Civil Protection personnel| Pool Moncloa/Borja Puig de la Bellacasa

"The Government of Spain will continue to make progress in this civil protection culture" and "work tirelessly with all the operators, with all the political forces, so that before the end of the year we can have an institutional architecture that deploys all the state policies linked to emergency and civil protection", he added.

"In fact, at the Conference of Regional Presidents that we will hold before the end of the year, in Asturias, this will be, at least from the point of view of the Government of Spain, the main point that we will put on the table", he announced.

Non official translation

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• Government of Spain
• Education
• Climate change