New Track: Training for crisis management and crisis preparedness

In an era marked by escalating natural hazards, systemic uncertainty, and rapidly evolving risk landscapes, crisis preparedness has become a core competence for individuals, institutions, and communities, and the demand for training and exercises is growing. Yet, preparing for unknown and compound scenarios remains challenging: crises rarely follow scripts, and effective response depends on timely decision-making, coordinated action, and practiced self-preparedness. Hence, crisis management training plays a vital role in preparedness.

Learning for crisis preparedness can be meaningfully strengthened through well-designed training tools and environments including both analogue approaches (e.g., role-play, tabletop exercises) and digital solutions (e.g., serious games, simulations, mobile apps, and immersive training). Such methods can support experiential learning, scenario-based reasoning, situational awareness, and reflection, thus helping learners build both procedural skills and adaptive mindsets.

Preparedness education should not be confined to professional settings or adult learners. Age-appropriate training can empower children and youth starting from primary school to recognize risks, respond safely, communicate effectively, and contribute constructively when disruptions occur. Developing these competencies supports resilience at the individual level and strengthens societal readiness more broadly.

This special session invites contributions that explore, evaluate, and advance training approaches for crisis preparedness, crisis response, and self-preparedness, including innovative tools, pedagogical designs, empirical studies, and lessons learned from real-world deployments.

We encourage contributions that are applicable across diverse settings and contexts, including formal education, vocational training, community-based initiatives, workplaces, and informal learning environments. Submissions may address a wide range of crisis types (e.g., natural hazards, public health emergencies, technological failures, or complex multi-risk situations) and should consider transferability, accessibility, and inclusion for different learner groups and resource conditions. We particularly welcome interdisciplinary perspectives and work that bridges research and practice through robust evaluation, design frameworks, or scalable implementation models.