Demetrios Pyrros, President, EENA
Demetri is the Director of Medical Services of the National Centre of Emergency Care (EKAB) in Greece and Past President of the World Association of Disaster and Emergency Medicine (WADEM). He has been repeatedly honoured by several governments for his medical interventions during disasters, such as in Armenia in 1988, Afghanistan in 1990 & Turkey in 1999.
In this keynote presentation, Ukrainian emergency service representatives will present their efforts to maintain and even improve emergency response in the face of Russia’s invasion. From establishing remote working for call-takers to the preservation of their technical infrastructure and the launch of new 112 centres, join us for a demonstration of exceptional resilience.
Chaired by Demetrios Pyrros, President, EENA
Leonid Tymchenko, CDTO (deputy Minister) of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine
Demetri is the Director of Medical Services of the National Centre of Emergency Care (EKAB) in Greece and Past President of the World Association of Disaster and Emergency Medicine (WADEM). He has been repeatedly honoured by several governments for his medical interventions during disasters, such as in Armenia in 1988, Afghanistan in 1990 & Turkey in 1999.
Year of birth – 1979
Current position – Chief Digital Transformation Officer of the MIA of Ukraine since February 2023, Deputy Minister
PhD (2010)
Worked at the National Police of Ukraine since August 1996
Colonel of police
FBINA graduate (2011)
Hobby – Triathlon (IronMan 2018)
Presentation of EENA2024’s Emergency Services Delegations from around the world
Demetri is the Director of Medical Services of the National Centre of Emergency Care (EKAB) in Greece and Past President of the World Association of Disaster and Emergency Medicine (WADEM). He has been repeatedly honoured by several governments for his medical interventions during disasters, such as in Armenia in 1988, Afghanistan in 1990 & Turkey in 1999.
Mladen is the Vice-President of EENA as well as the Chairman of the Board and Director of TCCA (The critical Communications Association). He worked for the Serbian Ministry of the Interior from 2003 to 2012 and as Head of Telecommunications Directorate, he was responsible for all telecommunication systems of the Serbian police and fire brigades, including the emergency call centres. Mladen spent several years as an expert for Geneva based DCAF (Democratic Control of Armed Forces) and as such, he founded and chaired the Western Balkans Telecommunications Committee for improvement of Cross-border cooperation.
Deep continual multitask classification of out-of-hospital medical emergencies in the Valencian Region
Pablo Ferri, Senior Researcher, PhD in Technologies for Health and Wellbeing, Polytechnic University of Valencia
Supporting emergency services in Germany with OR and AI-based approaches
Melanie Reuter-Oppermann, Senior Research Fellow, University of Maastricht
Senior Researcher at Biomedical Data Science Lab.
Bachelor Degree in Biomedical Engineering.
Master of Science in Statistical-computational processing of information.
PhD in Machine Learning applied to out-of-hospital medical emergencies, especially focused on Deep Learning, Continual Learning, Multimodal Learning and Multitask Learning.
Melanie Reuter-Oppermann is an Assistant Professor for Operations Research in Healthcare at the University of Twente. In 2017, she received her PhD in Operations Research (OR) from the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology on the analysis and optimisation of Emergency Medical Services systems. She is a joint coordinator of the European Working Group on Operational Research Applied to Health Services (ORAHS) and active in various research and practice organisations. In her research, she applies Information Systems and OR methods to support decision making in healthcare with a special focus on emergency services and logistics.
Today’s track 1 will be entirely dedicated to the AI revolution and what it can offer to PSAPs. Join this session to hear about the use of chatbots, speech-to-text, language detection and translation, and how AI can help Quality Assurance, triage, staffing and support mental health. We will also take the time to hear more about what AI is, and how it is regulated at EU level. You will also hear about EENA’s Special Project on AI.
Chaired by Liana-Emilia Mușat, 112 Development Policies Office coordinator, Special Telecommunications Service, Romania
What AI can bring to PSAPs & EENA’s AI Special Project
Alexis Gizikis, Project Manager, EENA
Main provisions of the EU Artificial Intelligence Act
Benoit Vivier, Public Affairs Director, EENA
I have been working for the Special Telecommunications Service (at the 112 Romania Unit) for almost 15 years. I am a former 112 call-taker and over the years I participated in many exciting projects aiming to improve the quality of the 112 Emergency Service. I am currently coordinating the 112 Development Policies Office.
Benoît joined the team in September 2015 and is in charge of EENA’s public affairs work. He is EENA’s liaison with the institutions of the European Union as well as other stakeholders, and works on increasing the awareness of the European emergency number 112 in Europe.
Benoit is also working on dedicated EENA programmes, including leading the file of emergency location and Advanced Mobile Location. Benoît has graduated in European Affairs from the College of Europe in Bruges; before that, he studied in Sciences Po Lille. He also spent one year abroad in Gothenburg (Sweden) as an erasmus student. Benoît is a Belgian national and speaks French, English, Spanish and Swedish.
Alexis is working as Project Manager at EENA since he joined the team in 2015. He is responsible for planning and coordinating EENA’s participation in different projects. Alexis is involved in projects about social media for emergency management, emergency caller location, eCall and lately piloting new technologies in PSAPs. In the past, Alexis has worked in the ICT sector, since 1999 and has been involved in management, R&D and consulting activities. He is a Greek national, and he holds a Master of Engineering (MEng) from the University of Aberdeen, in Scotland. He has lived and worked in the United Kingdom and speaks fluent English.
The Great Resignation, low staffing, and shifts unadapted to family and personal life. These are very hot topics across the world right now, with PSAPs facing increased pressure with more and more limited resources. In this session, you will hear from PSAPs that have succeeded in keeping their staff and how they are doing it.
Chaired by Cindy Sparrow, CEO & Founder, Cindy Sparrow International
The Possibilities of Staff Retention through Remote Work and other Initiatives
Sophia Gebath-Wicho, Chatservice, Lower Austria Emergency Command and Control Center, Austria
Staff retention in 112 Brussels PSAP
Spencer Smolders, Major, Brussels Fire and Rescue Department, Belgium
Public safety leader, international consultant, educator & speaker with 28 years’ industry experience as a 9-1-1 Dispatcher, flight & ground Paramedic, and Deputy Chief leading teams in 9-1-1, Fire, EMS, and Police. She’s the NENA Canada West President, Past President of APCO Canada, and former Director with Alberta E9-1-1 Advisory Association.
Cindy has a master’s degree in leadership, is a certified EQi practitioner, trauma and resilience educator, and is completing Conscious EFT™ practitioner certification.
As a disruptor, she’s here to change the game in our industry and for the people working within it. She’s a fierce advocate for the “first, first responders”, mental health, leadership, and much needed systemic change. As CEO of Cindy Sparrow International, she delivers consulting, education, and facilitates transformation for leaders and their teams so they can achieve massive success and build resilience in the face of constant change, stress, and trauma.
Sophia is a multicultural individual with a passion for emergency management and healthcare. After moving to Beijing, China as a teenager, she then moved to Toronto, Canada where she completed her Bachelor’s degree in Disaster and Emergency Management. Upon returning to her home country, Austria, she continued her education by earning a Master of Science in Emergency Healthcare Management. She began her career at Notruf Niederösterreich as a Calltaker in 2015 where she quickly rose through the ranks to become a dispatcher and quality assurance team member before becoming part of the division Chatservice. In this role she is responsible for overseeing the Chatbot of Notruf Niederösterreich and Apps ensuring that other communication channels offer new possibilities of getting in touch with the ECC. She is committed to utilizing her skills and experience to make a positive impact in the emergency management and healthcare industry.
Equivalent access to 112 for all is progressing but there are still some challenges to be faced. In this session we will speak about the current situation and its near future evolution.
Chaired by Carlos Rosa, Head ICT Unit, 112 Canary Islands, Spain
Accessibility of 112: European legislation requirements and end-user perspective
Daniel Casas, Accessibility Policy Officer, European Disability Forum
All about Real-Time-Text (RTT)
Luca Bergonzi, Sales Executive – International Business Development, Beta80
Harmonized Standard for Emergency Communications: Accessibility, Interoperability, and PSAP
Cristina Lumbreras, Chair, ETSI Technical Committee on Emergency Communications
Daniel Casas is Accessibility Policy Officer at the European Disability Forum (EDF), the umbrella organisation that defends the interests of over 100 million persons with disabilities in the EU. His work at EDF focuses on accessibility and freedom of movement, covering areas and policies such as transport, the built environment, accessibility of goods and services, ICT and new technologies and standardisation. Before that, he worked for three years as Policy Officer at the Delegation of the Government of Catalonia to the EU. Daniel holds a bachelor’s degree in Philosophy, Politics and Economics (Spain) and a master’s degree in European Integration (Belgium).
Responsible for the international business development for the Emergency Management division @ Beta 80 Group and Chairman of the Technical & Operations committee @ EENA.
I have a backgorund in Telecommunications engineering, with specialization on VoIP protocols and have been working for Public safety forces since 2005.
Cristina has been the Technical Director at the European Emergency Numbers Association (EENA) for over ten years, where her work has focused on improving emergency telecommunications and crisis response. Her role includes contributing to the strategic planning and execution within EENA. She coordinates the technical and emergency services’ operations activities of the association.
In addition to her position at EENA, Cristina chairs the Technical Committee on Emergency Telecommunications (EMTEL) at the European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI). Her work here is centered on the development and standardisation of telecommunications solutions to ensure they are interoperable, resilient, and efficient during emergencies.
Before these roles, Cristina was the IT Manager at Madrid’s 112 Center. The experience provided her with a solid foundation in emergency telecommunications and crisis management, which she has built upon in her subsequent roles.
Cristina’s contributions are driven by a commitment to improving emergency response through strategic oversight, collaboration, and knowledge sharing.
Since 2009 he belongs to GESTION DE SERVICIOS PARA LA SALUD Y SEGURIDAD EN CANARIAS SA, a public company that manages the 1-1-2 service of the Canary Islands and the Urgent and Non Urgent Health Transport. He is currently the IT manager of this service, also participating in several forums related to the evolution of the emergency services and the management of Cybersecurity. He has also collaborated with EENA 112 as a member of the EENA Tech & Ops Committee.
He holds a degree in Mathematics, is accredited as a Security Manager and has completed several University Experts related to Information Security and Digital Transformation of Public Administration. He has also collaborated with Canarian universities as a professor teaching in the Master of Cybersecurity and Data Intelligence of the ULL, among other areas of technology. He is currently developing a doctoral thesis at this university on the application of Artificial Intelligence in cybersecurity.
He began his professional career at CiberCentro, an IT management agency of the Canary Islands Government. From there he developed different activities in the field of Information Systems, being responsible for the Operations, Quality and Project Management departments.
Focus on solutions available in the market.
Control Room Applications as a Service
Bernat Elias, LXaaS Business Manager, Frequentis
Public Safety and Benefits of High Accuracy Location
Stuart Walsh, Field Product Director, SS8
Unlocking Public Safety’s Future – The Dynamic Symphony of Physical Security and Public Safety Integration
Adlan Hussain, Solutions Marketing Manager, Public Safety, Everbridge
Stuart Walsh is a consultative technical sales leader with over 25 years of experience helping customers deliver solutions for success. As a leader in the solutions engineering division at SS8 Networks, Stuart is passionate about introducing next generation solutions and services to network operators and intelligence agencies and driving business growth. Stuart also has a depth experience in voice and data applications for both Enterprise and Service Provider customers.
Adlan Hussain is a seasoned commercial enterprise professional with a remarkable track record spanning over two decades in the high-technology sector. His expertise lies in spearheading large-scale, cutting-edge projects focused on mission-critical security, contributing significantly to public safety worldwide.
Having played a pivotal role in some of the most significant security initiatives globally, Adlan has collaborated with leading organizations in Critical Infrastructure Protection, Federal Government, Law Enforcement, Corporate Security, and Safe City programs. His work directly influences the enhancement of public safety measures, safeguarding vital assets and infrastructure.
Today’s track 1 will be entirely dedicated to the AI revolution and what it can offer to PSAPs. Join this session to hear about the use of chatbots, speech-to-text, language detection and translation, and how AI can help Quality Assurance, triage, staffing and support mental health. We will also take the time to hear more about what AI is, and how it is regulated at EU level. You will also hear about EENA’s Special Project on AI.
Chaired by Monica Million, Owner, Million Consulting Services
Delivering 24/7 Public Warning alerts with Chatbot technology – the future is here now!
Menno Bot, Solutions Architect, Public Warning and Solange van der Kolff, Software Engineer, Everbridge
CAD Automation
Anders Sandell, CTO, OMDA Emergency
5 ways AI is revolutionizing emergency response.
Alex Dizengof, Founder and CTO, Carbyne,
Monica Million is the founder and CEO of Million Consulting Services. Monica’s experience and commitment to service spans 24 years, beginning with her role as a 9-1-1 public safety telecommunicator. She worked her way up to managing a regional 9-1-1 center, served as the first civilian deputy chief of services for her municipal police department. Monica concluded her government service as the executive director of the Colorado 9-1-1 Resource Center, serving eighty-six 9-1-1 centers across the state.
Monica was most recently the 9-1-1 subject matter expert for the Amazon Web Services (AWS) Justice and Public Safety Team, where she was instrumental in deploying solutions in PSAPs to help mitigate staffing shortages, analyze dispatcher mental wellness, and ultimately save lives.
Monica is a past president of the National Emergency Number Association (NENA) and a NENA Hall of Fame Award recipient. In her time with NENA, Monica was instrumental in establishing the Collaborative Coalition for International Public Safety. She is also the co-founder and co-chair for the Women in 9-1-1 Alliance and for the Collaborative Coalition for International Public Safety.
Monica serves on the Board of Advisors for several organizations: Valor Vacations of Colorado, Source One, and the Women in 9-1-1 Alliance. In her spare time, Monica speaks at state, regional, national, and international events to advance 9-1-1 and emergency number services worldwide.
Menno Bot, a Solution Architect at Everbridge in the Netherlands, contributes to the design and architecture of various public safety products. His passion for innovation drives him to contribute significantly to the field. Menno holds a Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science from the Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences and boasts over 20 years of experience in Telecommunications and IT across various countries. Previously, he has worked with companies such as Comptel, Nokia, and Group 2000, and he has been involved in the development of several patents.
Solange van der Kolff is a software engineer at Everbridge in the Netherlands since April 2022. Her primary focus lies in developing the Element Manager for monitoring and reporting of Everbridge Public Warning products. Additionally, she has been actively involved in advancing the Everbridge Public Warning chatbot, a CAP project, which was part of the ENGAGE EU research initiative.
Alex Dizengof is the Chief Technology Officer and Co-Founder of Carbyne, a leading cloud-native emergency call-handling provider at the forefront of revolutionizing emergency response systems. With over 15 years of experience in technology innovation and development, Alex has established himself as a prominent figure in the industry.
At Carbyne, Alex’s visionary leadership has been instrumental in the development of an advanced emergency response platform. This platform integrates cutting-edge technologies to empower first responders and ultimately save lives. His expertise and dedication to leveraging technology for the greater good have positioned Carbyne as a leader in the field of emergency services.
Alex’s contributions to the technology sector have earned him recognition from esteemed publications including Forbes, TechCrunch, and VentureBeat. He is widely regarded as a thought leader in the industry, regularly sharing his insights and expertise on emerging trends and best practices. With over 10 patents to his name, his work represents a significant contribution to the advancement of technology in the emergency response domain.
The Commission has released an updated regulation on Next Generation eCall in early 2024. Join this session to hear about this regulation and what it entails for public authorities and providers in the eCall chain.
Chaired by Ciaran Moynihan, EENA Technical and Operations Committee vice-chair
An overview of the amended regulatory framework for eCall
Freddie McBride, Director, Policy & Regulation, EENA
eCall standards
Matthias Moerbe, CEN TC 278/WG 15 Convenor, European Committee for Standardization (CEN)
Implementation of NG eCall
Erica in’t Veld, 112 Advisor, Netherlands Police
Erica began her professional journey in the banking and finance sector, eventually specialising as an IT product expert within a financial planning software company. In 2016, driven by a desire to make a more direct impact on society, she transitioned to part-time roles as a funeral leader and a 112-call taker. Leveraging her IT background and newfound expertise in emergency response processes, Erica worked on the development of a new 112-platform, marking her return to the IT sector. By 2018, she assumed the role of Information Analyst and Advisor for the Police, Ambulance, Fire Department, and Military Police at the National Public Safety Answering Point (PSAP). She oversees all technical aspects of PSAP operations, including the 112 emergency call answering service.
Freddie McBride is EENA’s director for digital communications policy and regulation, joining in January 2021. Prior to his role at EENA, he was the European Communications Office’s deputy director and expert in numbering and networks, joining in November 2012 from the Commission for Communications Regulation, Ireland’s telecoms regulator. He is a business graduate with a MSc in Computing and Information Systems and a Professional Diploma in Regulatory Governance. He has over 25 years’ experience in the telecommunications industry.
– At Bosch since 1979
– Development responsibility of integrated circuits and hybrids for
ABS and ESP Germany, Japan, USA
– Director of engineering and manufacturing ABS in Australia
– Vice president Competence Center Sensors for ABS and ESP
– Vice president product area non-automotive sensors at Bosch
Engineering GmbH from 2008 to 2012
– Lead function advanced motorcycle systems
– Innovation award motorcycle stability control lean angle sensor
– Contact for PTW to EU-Commission, ACEM, CLEPA, FEMA
– Cluster leader I_HeERO eCall for power two-wheeler
– VP product manager PTW sensors – World
– VP engineering Two-Wheeler systems – Europe
– Bosch Management Support – Senior Expert
– Cluster lead sAFE project eCall for power two-wheeler
– Cofounder of private entity lumenum®
– Representative for Bosch PTW at CLEPA, UNECE, C2C, 5GAA
– Delegate in Standardization Organization DIN, CEN, ETSI, ISO
– Convenor CEN TC278/WG15 eSafety
Good cooperation between emergency services organisations is crucial for an effective response to an emergency. In this session, we will learn how different agencies work together and coordinate their actions.
Chaired by Fidel Liberal, full professor, University of the Basque Country
Multi-Agency Coordination Platform of the Valencian Autonomous Community
Miguel Mollá, Responsible of Technologies, 112 Valencia, Spain
Multisectoral Collaboration: The 9-1-1 Emergency System in Costa Rica
Ingrid Priscila Solano Camacho, Quality of Service Monitoring Process Officer, 9-1-1 Costa Rica
Multi-agency integration – Madrid 112
Magaceda López, Head of Information Technology, Security and Emergency Agency, Madrid 112, Spain
Prof. Fidel Liberal is a well-recognized expert in Mission Critical communications.
He works as professor and principal investigator of the NQAS research group in the University of the Basque Country (UPV/EHU) where he leads different emergency and mission critical communications and beyond 5G related R&D projects. Among others, he is the coordinator of the Mission Critical Open Platform (MCOP) www.mcopenplatform.org and leads the MCS TaaSting www.mcstaasting.com project, aimed at providing flexible testing as a service mechanisms for MCS certification.
As a result of his intense dissemination and advocacy activity in Mission Critical communications, he is involved with most relevant stakeholders in the sector (TCCA, NIST/PSCR, EENA, PSCE) and standardization and certification bodies such as ITU-T, 3GPP, ETSI and GCF. Fidel has served as technical expert in NG112 and all MCX/FRMCS Plugtests, interoperability events organized by ETSI. He has also co-founded two security and mission critical communications related Spin-Offs.
With the base of Telecommunication Engineer education, I’ve been for 25 years managing the use of ITC to emergency management and public safety in the region of Valencia, including the 112 regional service. Expert in applied tecnhologies to emergency management, and focused in supporting coordination among different agencies, such as police , fire and rescue organistations, or EMS.
Focus on solutions available in the market
Top 8 Global Trends in Public Safety
Nick Chorley, Director EMEA Public Safety & Security, Hexagon
Huawei Solution for PSAPs Ransomware Protection
Małgorzata Pawłowicz, Government Industry Expert, Huawei
Protecting call-takers’ mental health
Joe Crocker, Technical Product Manager, Motorola Solutions
Małgorzata Pawłowicz takes the position of the Government Industry Expert in European Enterprise Government & Public Utility Development Department. She is responsible for driving digital transformation initiatives in Government sector, helping governments, public safety services, cities and municipalities to meet rising public safety challenges.
Nick sets the strategic direction for Hexagon’s activity in the Public Safety space in EMEA. Nick has more than 35 years experience implementing systems and maintaining relationships in the control room both in Europe and in the Asia-Pacific region.
Today’s track 1 will be entirely dedicated to the AI revolution and what it can offer to PSAPs. Join this session to hear about the use of chatbots, speech-to-text, language detection and translation, and how AI can help Quality Assurance, triage, staffing and support mental health. We will also take the time to hear more about what AI is, and how it is regulated at EU level. You will also hear about EENA’s Special Project on AI.
Chaired by Ross Venhuizen, Vice-Chair, EENA Tech & Ops Committee
Deep Learning model to predict the severity in health emergencies during the 112 call
Antonio Félix de Castro, Physician and Biomedical Engineer, Valencian Regional Government & Pablo Ferri, Senior Researcher, PhD in Technologies for Health and Wellbeing, Polytechnic University of Valencia
The cutting-edge Speech-To-Text and audio intelligence solution
Jean-Louis Queguiner, Chief Executive Officer & Constant Dacbert, Head of Sales, Gladia
Senior Researcher at Biomedical Data Science Lab.
Bachelor Degree in Biomedical Engineering.
Master of Science in Statistical-computational processing of information.
PhD in Machine Learning applied to out-of-hospital medical emergencies, especially focused on Deep Learning, Continual Learning, Multimodal Learning and Multitask Learning.
Jean-Louis Quéguiner, previously VP of Data, AI & Quantum Computing at Europe’s leading cloud provider, OVHcloud, founded Gladia to make cutting-edge AI tools and research accessible to any developer. Holds a Master’s Degree in Symbolic Al. Driven by a mission to simplify Al for developers, single-handedly built a chatbot to curate, classify and unify all Al applications in one store, enabling 13k+ model implementations to be classified in less than 4.5 years.
Yes, surely there’s a need to update our technologies. But what does this process mean for call-takers? How are their voices considered during change? How are they feeling when they have to deal with these migrations?
Join this session to hear honest reports and feedback from call-takers and dispatchers who have gone through technical migrations in the last years.
Panel discussion moderated by Alfonso Zamarro, Vice-Chair, Technical and Operations Committee, EENA
Discussion panel with:
For the past 22 years I have worked in emergency services, , the last 17 years at the Copenhagen PSAP, first as operator and later as team leader. Since 1 January 2024, I have acted as technical specialist in collaboration with our IT department.
I’m a senior operator currently working as a communications specialist. I entered the field in 2019, when the agency was entering a transition period in applying new technologies. I’m also a therapist with a strong interest for cognitive ergonomics, which has helped me look at the changes through a solution focused perspective. My role as a trustee has also given me a strong connection with the operators at the agency.
I work at the Special Telecommunications Service Romania since 2016 as a 112 call-taker. In addition to that, I am also an operational analysis and monitoring officer. I have been involved from the early stages in the NG 112 project and the main activities that I currently carry out are testing the features of the new system and training 112 call-takers and dispatchers on using the NG 112 platforms.
I work at the Special Telecommunications Service Romania since 2021. I have been trained as a 112 call-taker, acted as an operational analysis officer and I am currently coordinating the 112 supervisors at national level. I am also involved in testing the features of the NG 112 system and training 112 call-takers and dispatchers on using the new platforms.
In the face of large-scale emergencies, effective communication is crucial. This panel will address the challenges and strategies in emergency communications, from integrating new technologies to ensuring timely and accurate public information. We’ll explore the perspectives of different professionals on navigating these critical scenarios, highlighting the importance of collaboration and adaptability in emergency response.
Panel discussion moderated by Iratxe Gómez Susaeta, Co-chair, Technical and Operations Committee, EENA
Discussion panel with:
I work as Presales Manager for Public Safety within Eviden (an Atos Group company), and although I’m based in Spain, my role is global. I also represent Eviden in the EENA Tech & Ops Committee (currently as co-chair), and in my spare time I volunteer for VOST.
Journalist in Comunidad Autonoma de Murcia. Since 2003 I have been responding to requests for information on emergencies from the media. Prepare statements, press conferences and responsible for messages and content on the social media profiles of 112 Region of Murcia. Coordinating a 5 people team.
Serafín Doblado studied Telecommunications Engineering at the University of Extremadura.
He developed his professional career as an Operations Engineer in IT management centers for “INDRA”, “Servicio Extremeño de Salud” and “Caja de Badajoz”.
In the last 10 years, Serafin has participated and led the digital transformation of the EMERGENCY services in Extremadura. He is the Engineer responsible for the CAUE 1.1.2 Technology platform in Extremadura. He has participated as a speaker in different Forums on Security and Emergencies with civilians and military, emphasizing the need for standardization of the Radio model in the management of large Emergencies.
His latest project is the design of pilot tests to evaluate the impact of 5G SLICE in EMERGENCY and MISSION CRITICAL SERVICES.
For Serafín Doblado, continuous learning is a constant. He is currently studying for a Master’s degree in Cybersecurity, and wants to focus his TFM on the PROTECTION OF CRITICAL INFRASTRUCTURES and OT ENVIRONMENTS.
His hobbies are Applied Electronics (Arduino Projects), scientific and literary divulgation, reading, theater and a glass of wine from “Ribera del Guadiana.
For Serafín Doblado, continuous learning is a constant. He is currently studying for a Master’s degree in Cybersecurity, and wants to focus his TFM on the PROTECTION OF CRITICAL INFRASTRUCTURES and OT ENVIRONMENTS.
His hobbies are Applied Electronics (Arduino Projects), scientific and literary divulgation, reading, theater and a glass of wine from “rivera del guadiana.
Focus on cloud-based solutions available in the market.
The multi-tenant, multi-agency, cloud-ready CAD
Margherita Di Mezza, Associate Sales Executive, Beta80
Leverage the Benefits of the Cloud for Your 112 Call Handling
Eric Caddy, Executive Vice President, Corporate Strategy, NGA
Margherita is an associate sales executive in the Emergency Crisis Management sector of Beta 80 Group. She is responsible for sales activities and the development of commercial strategies for Centre-South Italy.
Margherita manages relations with the Public Administrations and the several stakeholders involved in project development for the creation of emergency operations centres for both 112 and Emergency Medical Services (EMS), and also works on the development of 116117 solutions for territorial assistance.
She has a Master’s degree in International Strategic Marketing at the HEC Management School in Liège, and prior to this she obtained a degree in International Business & Entrepreneurship at the University of Pavia in Italy. Furthermore, she has had study experiences in Spain and United Kingdom.
Today’s track 1 will be entirely dedicated to the AI revolution and what it can offer to PSAPs. Join this session to hear about the use of chatbots, speech-to-text, language detection and translation, and how AI can help Quality Assurance, triage, staffing and support mental health. We will also take the time to hear more about what AI is, and how it is regulated at EU level. You will also hear about EENA’s Special Project on AI.
Chaired by Ronnie Riedl, Control Centre Manager, Emergency Communication & Coordination Centre of Lower Austria, Austria
AI for efficient communication and protection of PSAP operator’s mental health
Mette Carstensen, Augmented Hearing & Christian Falberg, Head of IT & Digitalisation, Greater Copenhagen Fire Department, Denmark
Reducing Non-Emergent Call Volume with AI and Other Initiatives
Matthew Hibler, Charleston County Consolidated Emergency Communications Center (United States)
The Future of AI in the Emergency Control Room
Brian Dale, President, Priority Dispatch
With over two decades of dedicated service to Notruf Niederösterreich, Ronnie Riedl has traversed through various positions within the organization before assuming his current role as the Head of Operations. Ronnie’s journey in the realm of emergency services began prior to his tenure at Notruf Niederösterreich, where he garnered valuable experience working in the ambulance service.
With a MSc in Biomedical Engineering and a background in Hearing Healthcare, my dedication to enabling better communication in challenging situations is founded on a deep understanding of the human auditory system and technologies to enhance speech. I cofounded Augmented Hearing with the ambition to revolutionise speech enhancement with AI.
I have been working in national and international roles within emergency services for the past 17 years, heading up departments in both business and IT. For the past 6 years I have been responsible for IT, Information Security, BI & Analysis and administrative departments within Greater Copenhagen Fire Department. Main focus and responsibility for ensuring a digital transformation and optimization of the organization.
Matthew Hibler currently serves as the 9-1-1 Technology Manager for the Charleston County Consolidated Emergency Communications Center. He received a B.S. in Geography from East Carolina University. He has been active in the area of GIS and Database Management for over 20 years.
Implementing a public warning technology is easy compared to the definition of a strategy and understanding how the population will receive the alert. In this session, researchers will discuss the reception and the perception of the alert by the recipients and provide key recommendations on how to write and send a public warning message.
Chaired by Amélie Grangeat, Disaster preparedness specialist, International Telecommunications Union
What makes an efficient Cell Broadcast emergency alert? Scientific insights and feedback in France
Johnny Douvinet, PhD, Professor, Avignon University (France)
Spatial (in)accuracy of Cell Broadcast
Esteban Bopp, Professor Assistant, Lille University (France)
PSAPs in Spain, like elsewhere globally, must confront various security challenges. In this session, we will explore how Spanish organisations are addressing these issues, ranging from physical to cybersecurity concerns.
Panel Discussion moderated by Carlos Rosa, Head ICT Unit, 112 Canary Islands, Spain
Discussion panel with:
Since 2009 he belongs to GESTION DE SERVICIOS PARA LA SALUD Y SEGURIDAD EN CANARIAS SA, a public company that manages the 1-1-2 service of the Canary Islands and the Urgent and Non Urgent Health Transport. He is currently the IT manager of this service, also participating in several forums related to the evolution of the emergency services and the management of Cybersecurity. He has also collaborated with EENA 112 as a member of the EENA Tech & Ops Committee.
He holds a degree in Mathematics, is accredited as a Security Manager and has completed several University Experts related to Information Security and Digital Transformation of Public Administration. He has also collaborated with Canarian universities as a professor teaching in the Master of Cybersecurity and Data Intelligence of the ULL, among other areas of technology. He is currently developing a doctoral thesis at this university on the application of Artificial Intelligence in cybersecurity.
He began his professional career at CiberCentro, an IT management agency of the Canary Islands Government. From there he developed different activities in the field of Information Systems, being responsible for the Operations, Quality and Project Management departments.
Focus on Real-Time Text solutions available in the market.
Real-time-Text at PSAPs
Anders Sandell, CTO, OMDA Emergency & Björn Skoglund, 112 Operations Specialist, SOS Alarm, Sweden
Implementation of accessibility and Real Time Text on PSAPs with the current infrastructure
Filip Malenak, Managing Director, NG-SOS, Zachranka
Real-Time Text now with nWise RTT Bridge
Thor Nielsen, VP Global Sales, nWise
Filip is a CEO of NG-SOS / Zachranka – a company which provides comprehensive set of tools used by emergency medical services in several EU countries for effective communication between the patient, dispatch and the responding crew. Filip leads a team of professionals who create advanced real-time image and text transmission, a mobile app for emergency calls, a public warning system and notifications and information sharing components for first responders. NG-SOS is the technological leader in the field of emergency communications.
I am one of the founders of nWise. I have extended experience in accessible communication and deployment of Real-Time Text (RTT) in different environments. Since 2001 I have worked with delivery and integration of communication solutions that enable access to telecommunication for people who are Deaf, DeafBlind and Hard of Hearing (D, DB, HH). I work actively in NENA’s Assibility Committee and I am co-chair at Communication Modalities. I am also Vice-Chair of the European Emergency Number Association (EENA) Tech and OPS Committee, where I work with accessibility issues.
Since in 2005, we work with the implementation and deployment of Real-time Text (RTT) in Telecom Relay Services, and with connecting RTT calls to Emergency Services. We have implemented RTT into Total Conversation, which combines three different media in one session (voice, video, RTT).
I work closely with service providers, solution developers, system integrators and telecom operators, while interacting with regulatory authorities, user organizations, governmental authorities, and other stakeholders. My goal is to make sure that meaningful accessibility to emergency services is available for all.
In this session you will hear from Apple and Google representatives on what they are doing, in North-America or in Europe, to have medical data automatically sent from devices to PSAPs with the user’s agreement. You will also hear how medical data can be shared with and used by PSAPs in a self-sovereign identity framework as tested in a recent EU-funded research project.
Chaired by Fabrice Dami, Medical director, Medical dispatch centre, Lausanne, Switzerland
Utilising Enhanced Emergency Data (EED) to share medical ID on iOS devices
Tony O’Brien, Senior Manager, Safety & Location team, Apple
Medical data transmission from smartphones to the PSAPs
Salvatore Baglieri, Global Head of Operations, Google & Henning Schmidtpott, IT Manager, 112 PSAP of Freiburg, Germany
Verifiable Credentials for Data Exchange
Dr. Christoph Fabianek, MBA, Vice-President, DEC112, Austria
Medical director Lausanne medical dispatch (Switzerland)
Senior physician Emergency department, Lausanne University Hospital, University of Lausanne, Switzerland.
In charge of developpement and quality control within the dispatch center
Tony works on Apple’s Safety & Location team, based in Ireland. Tony previously worked as Deputy Executive Director with EENA and had senior management roles with PayPal and Commission for Communications Regulation (ComReg) in Ireland.
Responsible for IT-Management at the PSAP in Freiburg/Germany and longtime active experience by working in emergency services and as calltaker/dispatcher. The PSAP in Freiburg is providing the AML endpoint for Germany.
Senior Manager with over 20 years of experience in the technology industry. Engineer at heart, dad of 2, passionate about making Android the safest and most helpful platform in the world.
Next Generation 112 (NG112) & Mission Critical Communications (MCX) are becoming inextricably linked as critical components of the evolving public safety landscape and share common goals in terms of enhancing situational awareness, improving response time & communications interoperability. In this session, we will explore recent developments from the NG112 & MCX perspectives with a particular focus on cross-border interoperability & coordination.
Chaired by Paul Bremner, Principal Analyst, Public Safety & Critical Communications, Omdia
GIS in Next-Generation Emergency Calling: A Foundation For Interoperability
Brooks Shannon, Director, Emergency Communications Solutions, ESRI
Mission critical communications in a roaming environment
Manuela Montagna, Quality of Service and Customer Experience Manager, CK Hutchison
Discussion panel with:
Paul Bremner is a Principal Analyst in the critical communications group at Omdia. He is the lead analyst for the Command and Control Rooms Intelligence Service.
Paul originally joined the video surveillance team in Omdia, formerly IHS Markit, in 2012, working closely with the security system integration community. He has written reports on a diverse range of topics, such as security end-user concerns across a range of different vertical markets, the security system integration market, and the emerging safe cities market. Paul moved into the public safety and critical communications team in 2019. He holds a bachelor’s degree in physics from the University of Exeter in South West England, the UK. Paul has spoken at many conferences and company events in the US, Europe, and Asia.
Brooks Shannon is Esri’s Director of Emergency Communications Solutions. He has worked for over 20 years in public safety, bringing a geographic approach to solving public safetey’s most urgent and complex problems. Brooks supports the global emergency communications market, which encompasses emergency call-taking, dispatching appropriate first responders, and routing emergency resources for the more than 240 million emergency calls that happen in the U.S. alone each year, in addition to the countless emergency calls that occur each year globally.
Over 30 years’ experience in Telecom business, 13 years’ experience in international Roaming.
As QoS manager In Hutchison Group, support in showing QoS potential as value added service in roaming negotiation.
Starting 2023, engaged within GSMA as chair of working groups on “QoS Measurement 5G Guidelines” and “Mission Critical Service in Roaming – Implementation proposal”.
Awarded at ROCCO100 “Top 10 Most Influential People in Roaming and Interconnect 2022”. Implemented a new solution to measure QoS that has been Awarded the third place at as innovation solution at Genesis Rocco Event 2021.
Judge at the “Antonio Meucci Global Telco Awards 2023″.
Duncan Swan is the Chief Operating Officer at British APCO, a part time role he took up in March 2022 following his retirement as a Director with UK IT Advisory firm, Mason Advisory. British APCO is leading several initiatives in the UK including around NextGen999/112 and MAIT – Multi Agency Incident Transfer.
Duncan has nearly 40 years’ experience of public safety technology gained through initially working for Philips Communication Systems and, from 1995, delivering consultancy firstly for Mason Communications and then finally for Mason Advisory. Duncan has provided strategic and technical input on assignments delivering mobile communications, critical control room solutions, and associated technologies for public safety organisations in the UK and further afield, and up until his departure leading the Mason Advisory team delivering professional technical services to the UK Home Office Emergency Services Mobile Communications Programme.
Mladen is the Vice-President of EENA as well as the Chairman of the Board and Director of TCCA (The critical Communications Association). He worked for the Serbian Ministry of the Interior from 2003 to 2012 and as Head of Telecommunications Directorate, he was responsible for all telecommunication systems of the Serbian police and fire brigades, including the emergency call centres. Mladen spent several years as an expert for Geneva based DCAF (Democratic Control of Armed Forces) and as such, he founded and chaired the Western Balkans Telecommunications Committee for improvement of Cross-border cooperation.
As in other parts of the World, PSAPs in Latin America are dealing with numerous challenges. In this session, we will hear about these and the measures that have been taken to respond to these.
Chaired by Karen Bozicovich, Organisation of American States
The challenges in the implementation of geolocation technologies in Latin America
Guillermo Del Rio, Vice-President of Public Safety & Karin Marquez, Chief Public Safety Brand Officer, RapidSOS
From Burnout to Empowerment: Improving Staff Experience in the 9-1-1 System
Marvin Palma Siles, Head of Operations, 9-1-1 Costa Rica
Dominican Republic Facing the Challenge of the New Generation of Emergency Systems
Randolfo Rijo Gómez, Executive Director, National System for Emergency and Security Attention 9-1-1, Dominican Republic
As Colonel Pilot Randolfo Rijo Gómez, ERD, I am honored to be recognized as a distinguished Dominican leader with a robust background in law and extensive experience across both military and civilian spheres. Born on February 6, 1976, in Santo Domingo, I proudly serve as the Chief Executive Officer of the National Emergency Response and Security System, 911, and as the Interim Chief Executive Officer of the National Institute of Transit and Land Transport (INTRANT).
My role as Chief Executive Officer of the National Emergency Response and Security System (911) in the Dominican Republic is to lead and supervise all operations and activities related to the efficient functioning of the emergency response system, ensuring efficiency, coordination, and effectiveness of emergency response throughout the country.
I graduated with honors Cum Laude from the National University Pedro Henriquez Ureña (UNPHU), with few contributions to the academic field as a teacher and advisor in Human Rights and International Humanitarian Law. In addition, I also completed the Capacity Development Process for Emergency Rescue Response course, hosted by KOICA in Korea in 2023, and had served as a speaker on security matters in various forums in cooperation with international organizations, including the OAS and the United States government.
Focus on solutions available in the market.
Data driven optimization of EMS dispatching
Dennis Bang Andersen, Chief Commercial Officer (CCO) and Clement Gram Christensen, Chief Product Officer (CPO), Logis Solutions, Dynamic Deployment
CESTEL: Revolutionizing Emergency Response and Accessibility across Europe
Jorge Forcada, Product Manager Emergency Solutions, Cestel
Text-2-112 : An International solution to support SMS/MMS/RCS messages to 112
John Snapp, VP of Technology, Intrado Life & Safety
As a VP of Technology for Intrado Life and Safety, John Snapp provides strategic direction and coordination of technical activities within the carrier services group and between various departments within the company. Mr. Snapp was the Chief Architect behind the company’s Text to 9-1-1 and Locate Before Route initiatives. Mr. Snapp also leads technical teams investigating and developing more accurate and faster location technologies for 9-1-1 and technologies to deliver those locations to public safety.
Mr. Snapp has served the wireless industry since 1991 and holds 21 patents. He has directed technical groups for various wireless carriers in both engineering and operational roles. He has worked closely with PSAPs, Carriers, Local, State and Federal agencies with the goal of improving 9-1-1 for all.
Discover Italy’s journey in transforming emergency response through a reform leading to the implementation of 112 as a common emergency number. This session will delve into the strategic reforms undertaken to streamline access to all emergency services. It will offer insights into the benefits and hurdles encountered in conducting this significant shift towards a common approach to handle emergency calls and ultimately a more efficient emergency support system.
Chaired by Uberto Delprato, R&D Manager, Webgenesys
Walter Occelli, Director, Single Emergency Number 112, Azienda Zero Piemonte & Member of the Advisory Commission of the Ministry of the Interior for the implementation of the European Emergency Number 112, Italy
Gioacchino Santocono Russo, Shift Supervisor, Single Emergency Number 112 Emergency Response Centre of Saluzzo, Piedmont Region, Italy
Andrea Fazi, Director, Single Emergency Number 112 Emergency Response Centre of Marche-Umbria, Regional Health Agency of Marche, Italy
Fabrizio Giusti & Matteo Martella, Ministry of Enterprises and Made in Italy, Members of the Advisory Commission of the Ministry of the Interior for the implementation of the European Emergency Number 112, Italy
I’m in charge of the 112 Service – Emergency Response for Marche and Umbria regions, in the center of Italy, since December 2020.
Since August 2023 I’m Director of the Integrated System of Emergency Response, a Department of Regional Health Agency of Marche, Italy, dealing with Emergency Medical Response System, HEMS, Defibrillator Networks, etc…
Before “switching to the desk” in 2020, I’ve been working for 18 years in the ambulances of the Emergency Medical System of Marche Region.
Every year, over 300,000 people suffer from out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) in Europe. Only 8–10% survive. Join this session to hear from Danish representatives and what they are – successfully – doing to increase chances of survival.
Chaired by David Fredman, EENA Technical and Operations Committee vice-chair
Grethe Thomas, Project Director, TrygFonden
David is co-founder of the Heartrunner system. He is dedicated to increase survival in OHCA through CPR and AED use. David has a background as a nurse in cardiology and holds a PhD from Karolinska Institutet, he was involved in setting up the national Swedish AED register and are a member of Swedens CPR council.
Grethe Thomas R.N., B.A., M.A., is Project Director at the Danish Foundation TrygFonden. She is responsible for implementation and development of the Danish AED Network, the School Project, the Heartrunner Project and the campaigns connected to this project www.hjertestarter.dk/english/you-can-save-lives . All the projects are focusing on reaching TrygFonden’s strategic goal – 85% bystander CPR in Denmark. Grethe is also in charge of TrygFonden’s collaboration with The Danish Cardiac Arrest Registry and the five Danish Emergency Medical Services. Grethe is a board member of The Danish Resuscitation Council www.genoplivning.dk with whom TrygFonden has a collaboration in resuscitation, implementation of Resuscitation Academy in Denmark and public stroke campaign.
Grethe has more than 40 years of experience in resuscitation and implementation of projects. As a Medical Anthropologist her publications are mainly in the field of applied cultural analysis.
Assessing quickly the emergency situation, transporting more tools or medical devices, searching missing people… There are many use cases where drones can considerably help emergency services. In this session, emergency services will present how they use this technology, from the control rooms to the field.
Chaired by Alfonso Zamarro, vice-chair of the EENA Technical and Operations Committee
Utility of UAVs in emergencies from the point of view of the Axega’s Drone Unit,
Marcos Araújo, Manager of the Galician Agency for Emergencies (AXEGA), Galicia, Spain
The drone in emergencies: operational use in the Military Emergency Unit
Amador Alcalde Vaquero, Commander, Military Emergency Unit, Spain
Focus on solutions available in the market.
Strategy and roadmap for AI adoption
Iñaki Peña, Global Head of Emergency Management Solutions & Stéphane Delaye, Chief Technology Officer for Command, Control & Intelligence, Eviden
ALTERNIS – From overcoming a speech-barrier up to Natural Language Understanding
Dr Eric Rietzke, CEO, LiveReader GmbH & Senior Researcher, German Research Center for Artificial Intelligence (DFKI)
I have been in the software industry for 20 years now. Most of that time I was focused on emergency management solutions, leading critical projects in different countries, and working with multicultural and distributed teams.
In the last couple of years, I have led the Emergency Management Solutions area within Eviden (Big Data and Security, Mission Critical Systems) and I have run the GEMMA product organization, where I have been responsible for setting the strategy, running the operations, and supervising the creative process.
Dr. Eric Rietzke is focusing on the intersection of AI and business informatics. At the German Research Center for Artificial Intelligence (DFKI), he leads the SPELL project, developing a platform for data exchange across control centers (PSAPs), emphasizing the role of AI in optimizing complex, knowledge-intensive processes.
His scholarly work, especially on applying ontology-based reasoning to business processes, showcases his contributions to the field’s understanding of data-centric and semantic business process modeling.
In parallel, as the Managing Director of LiveReader GmbH, Dr. Rietzke blends academic insight with business acumen, demonstrating his capability in both realms since 2004. Dr. Rietzke’s endeavors highlight his influence in marrying AI with business process management, offering theoretical and practical advancements in the field.
To facilitate networking on specific topics, large tents will be installed in front of the conference area and each tent will correspond to a topic. Participants willing to meet other experts or enthusiasts about a certain topic will gather under the appropriate tent and can start the discussion. Discussion topics will be:
Coffee will also be served in the exhibition area.
A successful project is based on writing a good Request For Proposal (RFP), selecting the best vendor, and managing a well-written contract. During this interactive discussion you will learn the key parts of a good RFP, key steps to selecting a vendor, and collaborative ways to manage a contract.
Chaired by Gregor Jänin, Owner, DispoNet
Budge Currier, 9-1-1 Emergency Communications Branch Manager, Governor’s Office of Emergency Services, State of California & Past President of NASNA, United States
Join us in this session to explore crucial aspects of training for emergency call-takers and dispatchers, discover how investing in robust training programmes is key.
Chaired by Kaili Tamm, Board Member, EENA
Developing resilience in Romanian 112 call-takers
Alexandra-Teodora Bădiță, Psychologist, Psychological Support and Monitoring Office, Special Telecommunications Service, Romania
Simulation pedagogy in ERC operators training
Toni Alatalo, Instructor, Emergency Response, Emergency Services Academy, Finland
I am board certified clinical and military psychologist and also qualified as a Cognitive Behavioural Therapist. As a psychologist at the Special Telecommunication Service, I have over five years of experience in providing mental health care and support to 112 call-takers. My work focuses on clinical assessment and counseling, therapeutic services, as well as training and psychoeducational programs for 112 call-takers.
Education:
ERC operator diploma 2001
Vocational teacher 2015
Community Educator (community developer), Bachelor of Humanities 2022
Work history:
ERC operator 2002–2006
ERC shift manager 2006-2012
Instructor 2012-
A European Commission representative will guide us through the EU funding opportunities for 112 PSAPs, emergency services, private companies and researchers. Join this session to find out how you can participate in the research activities funded under the Secure Societies (Cluster 3) Horizon Europe programme.
Chaired by Cristina Lumbreras, Technical Director, EENA
Philippe Quevauviller, Research Programming and Policy Officer, European Commission
Cristina has been the Technical Director at the European Emergency Numbers Association (EENA) for over ten years, where her work has focused on improving emergency telecommunications and crisis response. Her role includes contributing to the strategic planning and execution within EENA. She coordinates the technical and emergency services’ operations activities of the association.
In addition to her position at EENA, Cristina chairs the Technical Committee on Emergency Telecommunications (EMTEL) at the European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI). Her work here is centered on the development and standardisation of telecommunications solutions to ensure they are interoperable, resilient, and efficient during emergencies.
Before these roles, Cristina was the IT Manager at Madrid’s 112 Center. The experience provided her with a solid foundation in emergency telecommunications and crisis management, which she has built upon in her subsequent roles.
Cristina’s contributions are driven by a commitment to improving emergency response through strategic oversight, collaboration, and knowledge sharing.
Philippe Quevauviller holds two PhDs (oceanography and environmental chemistry) and a HDR obtained from the universities of Bordeaux and Pau (France). He has joined the European Commission in 1989 and pursued a career in research and EU policies. Since 2013, he is in charge of research programming in the area of Disaster Resilient Societies at the Secure Societies Horizon Europe programme. He has also followed up an academic career as Associate Professor and as a scientific writer and editor.
Focus on solutions available in the market.
Enhancing Community Safety with Mass Alerting and RTT solutions
Erik Pras, Director Pre-Sales EMEAA, Enghouse Networks
Why specialized bluelight routing matters for dispatch
Daniel Korn, Rescue Track
In 2023, EENA embarked on an initiative to explore the evolving role of TPSPs in the emergency communications supply chain. In this session, the key findings of the project will be presented followed by a discussion on how to progress on those findings by a panel of participants representing both PSAPs and TPSPs.
Chaired by Freddie McBride, Director – Policy & Regulation, EENA
The Integral Role of Third-Party Service Providers in the Emergency Communications Ecosystem
Freddie McBride, Director, Policy & Regulation, EENA
TPSPs: Allies, not foes!
Marcio Oliveira, Vice-President Business Development, Intrado
Discussion panel with:
Freddie McBride is EENA’s director for digital communications policy and regulation, joining in January 2021. Prior to his role at EENA, he was the European Communications Office’s deputy director and expert in numbering and networks, joining in November 2012 from the Commission for Communications Regulation, Ireland’s telecoms regulator. He is a business graduate with a MSc in Computing and Information Systems and a Professional Diploma in Regulatory Governance. He has over 25 years’ experience in the telecommunications industry.
Martin Welp is the program manager for the nora emergency app system at bevuta IT. He’s into all the small technical details of nora as well as the overall progress of accessibility in the field of emergency communications.
Sophia is a multicultural individual with a passion for emergency management and healthcare. After moving to Beijing, China as a teenager, she then moved to Toronto, Canada where she completed her Bachelor’s degree in Disaster and Emergency Management. Upon returning to her home country, Austria, she continued her education by earning a Master of Science in Emergency Healthcare Management. She began her career at Notruf Niederösterreich as a Calltaker in 2015 where she quickly rose through the ranks to become a dispatcher and quality assurance team member before becoming part of the division Chatservice. In this role she is responsible for overseeing the Chatbot of Notruf Niederösterreich and Apps ensuring that other communication channels offer new possibilities of getting in touch with the ECC. She is committed to utilizing her skills and experience to make a positive impact in the emergency management and healthcare industry.
Join this session to hear from presentations by countries around the world, how they run their emergency calling systems and their current and future projects.
Chaired by Cristina Lumbreras, Technical Director, EENA
Coordination, empowerment, and modernisation of emergency systems in the Americas from a multilateral and collaborative perspective. The role of the OAS.
Karen Bozicovich, Organisation of American States
Emergency Management System – Principality of Andorra
Cristian Pons Tatjer, Director of Civil Protection and Emergency Management Department, Ministry of Justice and Interior, Principality of Andorra
Organisation of Emergency Services in Response to Emergencies and Disasters
Omar Smith, Director General, National Emergency System 9-1-1, Panama
Cristina has been the Technical Director at the European Emergency Numbers Association (EENA) for over ten years, where her work has focused on improving emergency telecommunications and crisis response. Her role includes contributing to the strategic planning and execution within EENA. She coordinates the technical and emergency services’ operations activities of the association.
In addition to her position at EENA, Cristina chairs the Technical Committee on Emergency Telecommunications (EMTEL) at the European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI). Her work here is centered on the development and standardisation of telecommunications solutions to ensure they are interoperable, resilient, and efficient during emergencies.
Before these roles, Cristina was the IT Manager at Madrid’s 112 Center. The experience provided her with a solid foundation in emergency telecommunications and crisis management, which she has built upon in her subsequent roles.
Cristina’s contributions are driven by a commitment to improving emergency response through strategic oversight, collaboration, and knowledge sharing.
Risk Management Professional with emphasis on prevention, safety, security, preparedness and response to emergencies and disasters, with more than 25 years of experience. Which include: Health and Environmental Safety in rescue operations, search and recovery, planning for emergency preparedness and response, inter-institutional coordination, risk management consulting in the preparation of National Emergency and Disaster Response Plans, Prevention Manuals of Risks in Areas of Limited Access. Reviewing and update of pre-hospital care protocols, as well as reception, call processing and dispatch of resources. Advice on Wilderness Safety in Hiking and Kayaks, Professor at the Specialized University of the Americas for the career of Technicians and Graduates in Medical Emergencies and Disasters.
This session brings together two presentations from EU projects covering the role of technological innovation in evolving in crisis management and emergency response.
Chaired by Laurent Arzel, Navigation Project Leader at Telespazio France.
AWARE – Why and how to protect emergency warning messages against a spoofing attack
Alexandre Allien, FDC
NIGHTINGALE – the next generation of pre-hospital triage
Chaim Rafalowski, Disaster Management Coordinator, Magen David Adom, Israel
Disaster Management Coordinator of Magen David Adom in Israel (Magen David Adom – MDA, is the national Emergency Medical Services – EMS provider for Israel, National Blood Bank and National Society member of the International Red Cross Movement).
Mr. Rafalowski holds a Master’s degree in Public Policy and Administration from Tel-Aviv University.
Work responsibilities include: MDA participation in EU R&D funded projects, international cooperation projects, deployment of MDA personnel as part of international response to disasters, and preparedness to large scale disasters and coordination with the International Red Cross Movement. Serves as an active team member in MDA ambulances and dispatch centers, as well as a national duty operations officer, then responsible of monitoring MDA daily as well as emergency operations.
In charge of several international projects, dealing with capacity building of ambulance services around the globe.
Since the beginning of COVID 19 pandemic, serves as a member of the Israeli National Emergency Health Operations center, representing MDA.
Professional highlights: Before assuming the position of DM coordinator, MDA served as a senior First Aid and Emergency Medicine Instructor (1988-1992), then as the Emergency Management and CBRN (Chemical, Biological, Radiological – Nuclear) preparedness officer of MDA, a position he held until 2010. During this period served as member of several national steering committees in Israel and was in charge of MDA preparedness and response to large scale emergencies.
Expert in Societal Security served as evaluator for FP7 EC R&D program, and member of the Advisory Board to DG Industry and Enterprise. Coordinated the participation of MDA in 7 large R&D projects funded by the EC.
Was part of the team who developed MDA Mass Casualty Incident (MCI) protocol and reviewed it several times, as well was involved in the response and evaluation of many emergency operations. As member of the operations division, played a key role in development of the 1st version of MDA C4I system and future developments as well as different training programs for staff and volunteers.
Contributor to the WHO – EMT RED BOOK (A guidance document for Medical teams responding to health emergencies in armed conflicts and other insecure environments).
Cross-border interoperability and continuity are becoming essential features of emergency communications. This requires compatibility between devices and networks, interoperability between emergency communications networks and cooperation on operating processes and procedures between emergency response organisations. This session will cover next generation interoperability and testing, steps already taken and plans for the future.
Chaired by Wolfgang Kampichler, Principal Scientist, Frequentis & Co-Chair, Tech & Ops Committee, EENA
Ensuring Interoperability and Different Test Approaches
Michael Pröstler, Chief Executive Officer, GridGears & Vice-Chair, Tech & Ops Committee, EENA
Next generation interoperability and testing for seamless continuity of emergency communications across borders
Budge Currier, 9-1-1 Emergency Communications Branch Manager, Governor’s Office of Emergency Services, State of California & Past President of NASNA, United States
Michael Proestler is Founder and CEO of GridGears. GridGears provides multiple products and solutions in the public safety sector, while driving and contributing to relevant standards to enable better, more integrated and more efficient mission critical services.
Michael has more than 10 years of experience in Public Safety. Starting out as a software
engineer, designing and implementing mission critical systems for public safety, he later
provided his extensive technical knowledge as a consultant and founded GridGears in 2017.
As CEO of GridGears, Michael Proestler drives the company’s vision of standard compliant, highly efficient and interconnected mission critical services. He has served as technical expert in the NG112 Plugtests, an interoperability event organized by ETSI and developed conformance test specifications for NG112 components as part of ETSI’s STF 549.
Michael graduated from Vienna University of Technology in 2008 with a master’s degree in
Computer Science. During his last year at the university he started working in the Public Safety sector, where the challenging and meaningful characteristics of that business never let him go.
Location data is crucial information linked to handling a crisis. In the past years, technologies have been introduced to improve the accuracy of the location information obtained by emergency services. In this session, we will also see how location data obtained through different techniques can also help getting more situational awareness about the emergency.
Chaired by Andrew Campbell Watson, Global Public Safety Advisor, Huawei
Location Centricity Integrated into the Workflow
Marcio Oliveira, Vice-President Business Development, Intrado
Next-level Situational Awareness with Network Location Data
Charlotte Thomas, Product & Cloud Offering Director, Intersec
An experienced telecoms and data professional, Charlotte joined Intersec in 2010 after working for a few years for a major mobile network operator. She headed up corporate marketing before opening the West African office in Ivory Coast. Back at headquarters, Charlotte was in charge of innovations for the public sector such as location intelligence for smart cities. In 2018, she joined Oracle as a big data & analytics expert for the public sector and participated in intrapreneurial projects in data mobility. In 2022, Charlotte returns to Intersec to lead the company’s public safety value proposition.
Career CIO in industry then British Transport Police, Deputy CIO of London Metropolitan Police, Chief Advisor Abu Dhabi Police, CIO UK Government Vetting Agency, CIO London Ambulance Service and then Global advisor on Public Safety matters with Huawei. For five years Andrew chaired the GIS Board for UK Policing.
There is strength in a diverse and well-represented workforce: yet women are typically underrepresented in emergency services across the world. In this session, we will hear from women working in various 112 positions across Europe and beyond, who will share their own experiences on staff retention, recruitment, and the barriers facing women in emergency services.
Chaired by Jules Lockett, General Manager EOC Newham – London Ambulance Service
Discussion panel with:
I have 23 years of experience at the London Ambulance Service, working in our 999 Control Room and EOC Training. My current role has a portfolio of Dispatching of Resources, Events and Incidents pan London and the leadership and development of colleagues working in our 999 Centre.
I have been working for the Special Telecommunications Service (at the 112 Romania Unit) for almost 15 years. I am a former 112 call-taker and over the years I participated in many exciting projects aiming to improve the quality of the 112 Emergency Service. I am currently coordinating the 112 Development Policies Office.
Sophia is a multicultural individual with a passion for emergency management and healthcare. After moving to Beijing, China as a teenager, she then moved to Toronto, Canada where she completed her Bachelor’s degree in Disaster and Emergency Management. Upon returning to her home country, Austria, she continued her education by earning a Master of Science in Emergency Healthcare Management. She began her career at Notruf Niederösterreich as a Calltaker in 2015 where she quickly rose through the ranks to become a dispatcher and quality assurance team member before becoming part of the division Chatservice. In this role she is responsible for overseeing the Chatbot of Notruf Niederösterreich and Apps ensuring that other communication channels offer new possibilities of getting in touch with the ECC. She is committed to utilizing her skills and experience to make a positive impact in the emergency management and healthcare industry.
Sara Weston, PMP, ENP is the founder and executive director of 911der Women, Inc. (pronounced 9-1-wonder women), a nonprofit corporation with a mission to empower and provide tools for women in public safety. She is the CEO of Sara Weston Consulting, LLC and has been a consultant for NG911 systems for 20 years. She’s worked across America bringing new technologies into 911 centers. Sara holds a Bachelor’s of Science in Information Sciences and Technology from Penn State University and is a certified Project Management Professional (PMP) and holds the Emergency Number Professional certification through NENA.
Monica Million is the founder and CEO of Million Consulting Services. Monica’s experience and commitment to service spans 24 years, beginning with her role as a 9-1-1 public safety telecommunicator. She worked her way up to managing a regional 9-1-1 center, served as the first civilian deputy chief of services for her municipal police department. Monica concluded her government service as the executive director of the Colorado 9-1-1 Resource Center, serving eighty-six 9-1-1 centers across the state.
Monica was most recently the 9-1-1 subject matter expert for the Amazon Web Services (AWS) Justice and Public Safety Team, where she was instrumental in deploying solutions in PSAPs to help mitigate staffing shortages, analyze dispatcher mental wellness, and ultimately save lives.
Monica is a past president of the National Emergency Number Association (NENA) and a NENA Hall of Fame Award recipient. In her time with NENA, Monica was instrumental in establishing the Collaborative Coalition for International Public Safety. She is also the co-founder and co-chair for the Women in 9-1-1 Alliance and for the Collaborative Coalition for International Public Safety.
Monica serves on the Board of Advisors for several organizations: Valor Vacations of Colorado, Source One, and the Women in 9-1-1 Alliance. In her spare time, Monica speaks at state, regional, national, and international events to advance 9-1-1 and emergency number services worldwide.
April is an accomplished professional who currently holds the position of Vice President and Chief of 9-1-1 Operations for NENA: The 9-1-1 Association. She has extensive experience and expertise in 9-1-1 Operations and is NENA’s subject matter expert in that area. April’s primary responsibilities include educating, advising, and advocating for 9-1-1 and Emergency Communication Center operations on behalf of NENA. April supports NENA’s development group in establishing operational standards and best practices for 9-1-1 operations. She actively participates in various industry associations and governmental organizations, working groups, committees, and taskforces to enhance the effectiveness and efficiency of 9-1-1 systems across the globe. She seeks innovative solutions to enhance emergency response capabilities and is dedicated to improving the 9-1-1 profession.
Spain has been implementing Cell Broadcast in the past few years. This session will give interesting insights on how ES-Alert was implemented at the national level in a country with decentralised structure and how the system is being used today locally.
Chaired and introduced by Benoît Vivier, Public Affairs Director, EENA
Implementation of the ES-Alert Public Warning system in Spain
Fernando Prieto Fernández, Advisory Member – IT and Communications Coordinator, Directorate General for Civil Protection and Emergencies, Ministry of the Interior, Spain
Deployment and use of the Public Warning system in Catalonia. Awareness campaigns and tests of the system.
Immaculada Solé Colomé, Vice-Director General for Coordination and Emergency Management, Directorate General of Civil Protection, Department of Interior, Catalonia, Spain
Benoît joined the team in September 2015 and is in charge of EENA’s public affairs work. He is EENA’s liaison with the institutions of the European Union as well as other stakeholders, and works on increasing the awareness of the European emergency number 112 in Europe.
Benoit is also working on dedicated EENA programmes, including leading the file of emergency location and Advanced Mobile Location. Benoît has graduated in European Affairs from the College of Europe in Bruges; before that, he studied in Sciences Po Lille. He also spent one year abroad in Gothenburg (Sweden) as an erasmus student. Benoît is a Belgian national and speaks French, English, Spanish and Swedish.
Focus on solutions available in the market.
Title to be announced
Pulsiam
Requirements for Mission Critical Services (MCX) over hybrid broadband networks: an entry point to AI/ML mechanisms for optimal MCX deployments
Adrian Santiago Santo-Tomas, Research & Development Engineer, Nemergent Solutions
The European Accessibility Act demands that Member States deploy Real-Time Text (RTT) by 2025. Join this session to hear from the first PSAP organisation in the US (and probably in the world!) that has received native-RTT from mainstream end-users’ devices, over SIP and with the active collaboration of Mobile Network Operators (MNOs).
Chaired by Tony O’Brien, Senior Manager, Safety & Location team, Apple
Christy Williams, Director, North Central Texas Emergency Communications District, United States
Toni Dunne, NENA RTT Work Group Co-Chair
Tony Parrott, VP Sales – Call Handling Solutions, Comtech
Tony works on Apple’s Safety & Location team, based in Ireland. Tony previously worked as Deputy Executive Director with EENA and had senior management roles with PayPal and Commission for Communications Regulation (ComReg) in Ireland.
Christy Williams, ENP
[email protected]
Director of 9-1-1 for North Central Texas Emergency Communications District
Christy Williams is an accomplished professional in the field of emergency communications, holding the position of Director of 9-1-1 for the North Central Texas Emergency Communications District (NCT9-1-1). In her role, she oversees the administrative agency responsible for 9-1-1 services in fourteen counties, serving over 40 Public Safety Answering Points (PSAPs) in the Dallas/Ft. Worth region. With a career spanning over three decades, Christy’s contributions have been instrumental in driving positive change and innovation in the industry.
Notably, Christy served as the President of the National Emergency Number Association (NENA) from 2014 to 2016, highlighting her exceptional leadership and dedication to the field. Her involvement extended to various levels, including the Texas NENA Chapter Board President and the presidency of the 9-1-1 Public Educators of Texas. She played pivotal roles at the national level, chairing the NENA Public Education Committee for seven years and contributing for 13 years to the NENA Educational Advisory Board.
Recognitions and awards underscore Christy’s contributions. She received the esteemed Laverne Hogan Award in 2011 for her significant impact in the 9-1-1 community and the International Wireless Communications Expo (IWCE) Critical Communications Leader of the Year Award in 2020. Under her leadership, the NCT9-1-1 program received the Technology Leadership Award from APCO and the ESRI Special Achievement in GIS Award in 2014, as well as the AWS State and Local Government Champion award in 2023, further underscoring their commitment to innovation and outstanding service in the field of emergency communications. These recognitions solidify NCT9-1-1’s position as a trailblazer in embracing cutting-edge technologies and approaches to enhance the safety and well-being of the community.
In collaboration with colleagues across the country, Christy initiated the Early Adopter Summit (EAS) in 2017. This platform, which convenes annually, brings together trailblazers and innovative partners in public safety to push boundaries and foster transformation in the 9-1-1 industry.
Christy has developed programs, campaigns, articles, courses, and training material, and has shared her insights at numerous local, state, and international conferences. Passionate about the industry, her work with NCT9-1-1 exemplifies her dedication to inspiring change and elevating 9-1-1 services for both citizens and telecommunicators.
As a life long advocate for people with disabilities, I have served NENA in a variety of roles to include Regional Director, Chair of the Accessibility Committee and Chair of the International Committee. My experience also includes serving on various committees at the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and working with the Dept. of Justice as a subject matter expert on 9-1-1 and accessibilities issues. Currently, I am Co-Chair of the Emergency Notifications for People with Disabilities workgroup, and Co-Chair of the Real-Time Text (RTT) Working Group where we established the NENA INF 042.1-2021 white paper to assist agencies with implementation of RTT.
Managing Call Handling sales for Comtech, having worked through the evolution of emergency call solutions for nearly 40 years for a variety or organizations. A member of both the Association of Public-Safety Communications Officials (APCO) and the National Emergency Number Association (NENA).
In the critical world of emergency response, accurate and timely caller location information is paramount to ensuring swift and effective assistance. Join this session to hear about the latest advancements in caller location technologies.
Chaired by Fiona Lee, Principal, CTRL-F Consulting
Accelerating Location-Based Services Deployments
Stuart Walsh, Field Product Director, SS8 Networks
112 for Nomadic VoIP: Crossing the NG112 Bridge Before it’s Built
Christian Militeau, Senior Director, Product Management, Global Emergency Services, Bandwidth
Vertical Emergency Caller Location: Technical, Regulatory and Policy Context in North America
Brandon Abley, Chief Technology Officer, NENA 911 & April Heinze, Chief of 9-1-1 Operations, NENA 911
Fiona is a tech industry veteran with experience in strategic analysis, partnerships, go-to-market and business operations at Google, Apple, AT&T Wireless, and several startups. In her past lives, she worked on initiatives to improve public safety, such as Android Emergency Location Service and Android Earthquake Alerts; and improve access to useful information in Emerging Markets to create broad-based participation in the opportunities created by mobile and emerging technologies. Her work was recognized in 2010 when her team won the award for “Best Mobile Apps for Economic and Social Development” at Mobile World Congress.
Fiona has master’s degrees from UC Berkeley and Harvard University, and a bachelor’s degree from Wellesley College.
Stuart Walsh is a consultative technical sales leader with over 25 years of experience helping customers deliver solutions for success. As a leader in the solutions engineering division at SS8 Networks, Stuart is passionate about introducing next generation solutions and services to network operators and intelligence agencies and driving business growth. Stuart also has a depth experience in voice and data applications for both Enterprise and Service Provider customers.
Mr. Militeau is the Head of Product, Global Emergency Services with more than 25 years of professional experience in the telecommunications, software and public safety industries. In this role, Mr. Militeau has been instrumental in the development of NG9-1-1 standards, technologies, products/services for the Public Safety industry, including products/ services for the UCaaS, CCaaS and CPaaS markets. Mr. Militeau led numerous activities including product management, systems engineering, and solutions architecture. Mr. Militeau joined Bandwidth in 2020 as a Product Leader, prior to Bandwidth he was with Intrado.
Brandon Abley is the Chief Technology Officer for NENA: The 9-1-1 Association. In this capacity he works with a community of experts in the development of NENA technical standards and advises, educates and advocates on technical issues for the emergency calling community.
April is an accomplished professional who currently holds the position of Vice President and Chief of 9-1-1 Operations for NENA: The 9-1-1 Association. She has extensive experience and expertise in 9-1-1 Operations and is NENA’s subject matter expert in that area. April’s primary responsibilities include educating, advising, and advocating for 9-1-1 and Emergency Communication Center operations on behalf of NENA. April supports NENA’s development group in establishing operational standards and best practices for 9-1-1 operations. She actively participates in various industry associations and governmental organizations, working groups, committees, and taskforces to enhance the effectiveness and efficiency of 9-1-1 systems across the globe. She seeks innovative solutions to enhance emergency response capabilities and is dedicated to improving the 9-1-1 profession.
We are delighted to have RapidSOS as the sponsor of this event and extend our sincere thanks for their generous support!
Every year, the EENA social event acts as the beating heart of the EENA Conference.
All participants are invited to join us to let their hair down and relax with the EENA community.
Registered participants for EENA2024 will receive an email a little before EENA2024 inviting them to sign up, and please note that participation will be subject to a fee.
Emergency call takers serve as the frontline heroes of public safety, providing a vital lifeline to those in distress. However, the nature of their work, which often involves exposure to traumatic events and emotional turmoil, can take a significant toll on their emotional and psychological well-being. This conference session aims to shed light on the unique challenges faced by emergency call takers and explore strategies for promoting their mental health and resilience.
Chaired by Emily Hough, Editor Emeritus, Crisis Response Journal & EENA Board Member
Panelists:
Emily Hough is founder and Editor Emeritus with the Crisis Response Journal. She works both in print and online, specialising in international publishing, events and conferences, mainly in the fields of disaster and crisis management. Emily has founded and organised high-level conferences and seminars in the resilience and response field, identifying global trends and anticipating future hazard scenarios. She is also a member of EENA’s board.
Dr. Michelle Lilly is a licensed clinical psychologist and professor of clinical psychology at Northern Illinois University (NIU). Early in her career at NIU, she became involved in research with 9-1-1 telecommunicators and has continued to focus on this understudied population. Dr. Lilly delivers training across the country on the topics of PTSD, suicide risk, stress management, and resilience for first responders and corporate audiences. She is also the owner of Lilly Counseling and Consultation, which is an organization that provides evidence-based intervention for PTSD, depression, and anxiety for first responders and families, as well as organizational assessment and consultation.
Public safety leader, international consultant, educator & speaker with 28 years’ industry experience as a 9-1-1 Dispatcher, flight & ground Paramedic, and Deputy Chief leading teams in 9-1-1, Fire, EMS, and Police. She’s the NENA Canada West President, Past President of APCO Canada, and former Director with Alberta E9-1-1 Advisory Association.
Cindy has a master’s degree in leadership, is a certified EQi practitioner, trauma and resilience educator, and is completing Conscious EFT™ practitioner certification.
As a disruptor, she’s here to change the game in our industry and for the people working within it. She’s a fierce advocate for the “first, first responders”, mental health, leadership, and much needed systemic change. As CEO of Cindy Sparrow International, she delivers consulting, education, and facilitates transformation for leaders and their teams so they can achieve massive success and build resilience in the face of constant change, stress, and trauma.
The delegated regulation 2023/444 entered into force in early 2023 to supplement the European Electronic Communications Code with additional measures on caller location, accessibility for people with disabilities and the transition to packet-switched technologies. In this session, panellists will exchange on their implementations of the provisions but also show how it is possible to go beyond the legislation mandate and deploy additional technologies.
Chaired by Benoît Vivier, Public Affairs Director, EENA
Panellists:
Benoît joined the team in September 2015 and is in charge of EENA’s public affairs work. He is EENA’s liaison with the institutions of the European Union as well as other stakeholders, and works on increasing the awareness of the European emergency number 112 in Europe.
Benoit is also working on dedicated EENA programmes, including leading the file of emergency location and Advanced Mobile Location. Benoît has graduated in European Affairs from the College of Europe in Bruges; before that, he studied in Sciences Po Lille. He also spent one year abroad in Gothenburg (Sweden) as an erasmus student. Benoît is a Belgian national and speaks French, English, Spanish and Swedish.
EENA awards the renewal of the PSAP Certification to Dubai Police, acknowledging their sustained excellence in emergency response. Established in 2014, the programme is set to continue shaping the future of public safety.
Presented and handled by Demetrios Pyrros, President, EENA and Cristina Lumbreras, Technical Director, EENA
Demetri is the Director of Medical Services of the National Centre of Emergency Care (EKAB) in Greece and Past President of the World Association of Disaster and Emergency Medicine (WADEM). He has been repeatedly honoured by several governments for his medical interventions during disasters, such as in Armenia in 1988, Afghanistan in 1990 & Turkey in 1999.
Cristina has been the Technical Director at the European Emergency Numbers Association (EENA) for over ten years, where her work has focused on improving emergency telecommunications and crisis response. Her role includes contributing to the strategic planning and execution within EENA. She coordinates the technical and emergency services’ operations activities of the association.
In addition to her position at EENA, Cristina chairs the Technical Committee on Emergency Telecommunications (EMTEL) at the European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI). Her work here is centered on the development and standardisation of telecommunications solutions to ensure they are interoperable, resilient, and efficient during emergencies.
Before these roles, Cristina was the IT Manager at Madrid’s 112 Center. The experience provided her with a solid foundation in emergency telecommunications and crisis management, which she has built upon in her subsequent roles.
Cristina’s contributions are driven by a commitment to improving emergency response through strategic oversight, collaboration, and knowledge sharing.
Mobile network operators (MNOs) play a critical role in enabling emergency communications. With the transition to IMS-based networks ongoing, the introduction of VoLTE emergency calling and the need to support services mandated by regulation such as real time text, total conversation and next generation eCall, MNOs are poised to play an even more important role in the future of emergency communications. In this session, a panel of experts representing the mobile network industry will share their insights and perspectives on the future of emergency communications.
Chaired by Elizabeth Greenberg, Head of Numbering Management and Policy, Ofcom UK and chair of ECC Working Group on Numbering & Networks
Panellists:
Koen Muysewinkel has a multi-year experience in the telecom industry. Before joining Proximus, the main telecom operator in Belgium , I was active at the vendor side, working for Siemens and later Nokia Siemens Networks on the mobile core networks. With Proximus, I took position essentially as an architect in the communication and collaboration domain , first as an enterprise architect, having a helicopter view on the PXS architecture. Last years , I joined the service platform domain for architecture activities. I’m helping the business in finding the cost effective architecture taking into account the long term strategy. My motto is “to live to learn” and I like to work in team to achieve a certain goal. In private life, I’m married with Sandra and father of two kids, young adults in the meantime and interested in sports, both active and passive, e.g. looking forward to go to the Olympics this summer as a spectator.
As a policy manager, Xhoana works closely with ETNO Member companies to drive forward the advocacy for the European telecommunication operators. Specifically, she is responsible for several policy areas: sustainability, consumer, platforms, content and spectrum.
Xhoana joined ETNO in September 2020 and gained a solid experience on a broad range of telecom policy files from digital infrastructure to data and artificial intelligence.
Before joining ETNO, Xhoana worked at the French Prime Minister’s General Secretariat for European Affairs (SGAE), working on foreign affairs and the think tank VoteWatch Europe, covering the work of the European Parliament.
She holds degrees in European Studies and political science from the College of Europe in Bruges and Sciences Po Grenoble. She specialised in European digital policies. Xhoana is a French national and speaks Albanian and English.
In this session you will hear from the Cybersecurity & Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), the United States’ cyber and critical infrastructure agency. CISA helps ensure the public safety, national security, and emergency preparedness communities can seamlessly and securely communicate during steady state and emergency operations to keep America safe, secure, and resilient. The work of CISA should help reflect on your own cybersecurity practices and have a better understanding of the work needed to protect emergency services communications.
Chaired by Kaili Tamm, Board Member, EENA
Jennifer Lord, International Telecommunications Portfolio Lead, Emergency Communications Division (ECD), Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA)
In 2023, PSAPs around the world were inundated with false emergency calls. This was due to a design issue with a feature on some handsets to automatically initiate an emergency call. The resource impact on PSAPs was significant. In this session, a recap of the false calls issue will be provided. A panel discussion will follow that will explore the critical considerations for designing and deploying devices, applications and features capable of initiating emergency communications automatically. The discussion will focus on the importance of user-centered design, robust testing frameworks and feature rollout strategies.
Chaired by Erica in’t Veld, 112 Advisor, Netherlands Police
Case Study on the impacts of unintended emergency calls
Freddie McBride, Director, Policy & Regulation, EENA
Panellists:
Freddie McBride is EENA’s director for digital communications policy and regulation, joining in January 2021. Prior to his role at EENA, he was the European Communications Office’s deputy director and expert in numbering and networks, joining in November 2012 from the Commission for Communications Regulation, Ireland’s telecoms regulator. He is a business graduate with a MSc in Computing and Information Systems and a Professional Diploma in Regulatory Governance. He has over 25 years’ experience in the telecommunications industry.
Fiona is a tech industry veteran with experience in strategic analysis, partnerships, go-to-market and business operations at Google, Apple, AT&T Wireless, and several startups. In her past lives, she worked on initiatives to improve public safety, such as Android Emergency Location Service and Android Earthquake Alerts; and improve access to useful information in Emerging Markets to create broad-based participation in the opportunities created by mobile and emerging technologies. Her work was recognized in 2010 when her team won the award for “Best Mobile Apps for Economic and Social Development” at Mobile World Congress.
Fiona has master’s degrees from UC Berkeley and Harvard University, and a bachelor’s degree from Wellesley College.
Erica began her professional journey in the banking and finance sector, eventually specialising as an IT product expert within a financial planning software company. In 2016, driven by a desire to make a more direct impact on society, she transitioned to part-time roles as a funeral leader and a 112-call taker. Leveraging her IT background and newfound expertise in emergency response processes, Erica worked on the development of a new 112-platform, marking her return to the IT sector. By 2018, she assumed the role of Information Analyst and Advisor for the Police, Ambulance, Fire Department, and Military Police at the National Public Safety Answering Point (PSAP). She oversees all technical aspects of PSAP operations, including the 112 emergency call answering service.
Site editor: EENA asbl
Director of Publication: Dr Demetrios Pyrros