The first Tabletop Exercise, hosted at local scale in Hamburg, took place on Sept 16th 2025. This inaugural exercise (1 of 3 planned) broke new ground by reimagining citizen involvement in crisis preparedness. Unlike traditional formats, it created direct dialogue between the crisis management team and citizens, fostering respectful discussions with multiple perspectives.
Looking Ahead: the insights from this first exercise will directly shape the project’s approach for the remaining two exercises in Piedmont (February 19th) and Romania (April 22nd), which will integrate the mobile app and AI simulation models.
Achievements:
✅Crisis teams gained valuable insights on psychological health impacts in crisis communication
✅Citizens brought real-world COVID-19 experiences that enriched decision-making processes
✅Successful departure from classic tabletop formats enabled meaningful stakeholder dialogue
✅Transparency proved crucial – citizens valued hearing crisis management team discussions
Lessons Learned:
🔄 Importance of citizen and crisis management team interactions
📱 Need to introduce the platform early in the exercise
🎭 Importance of role-playing elements alongside discussion-based formats
💡 Importance of enhanced training for high-stress crisis simulations
🤝 Reliance on local networks for authorities
Special thanks to our partners the city of Hamburg and Martin Luther King-Steilshoop church for hosting this exercise.
📸 See some moments from the event below.
English 
Italian 
Romanian 
German