JOINews June


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Monthly Newsletter

June 2023

News from the Network

St John’s Day celebrations

On 24th June, St John people celebrated the feast day of St John the Baptist. St John volunteers, staff, and members of the Orders came together to celebrate the many achievements in offering care and service to people in need, and to acknowledge the hard work given by St John people across the world. St John people and supporters attended services of Commemoration and Rededication and conducted many community activities. St John's Day is, for many, the day for Investitures, for parades, for flag raising, and for the announcement of new projects and ventures. The Order of St John’s Head of Chancery visited St John Malta and presided at their Investiture and Awards Ceremony at St John's Day Service in Valletta. It was the first investiture held in Malta since 2016. Read more about some of the events St John hosted around the world here.

First Volunteer Swap for young people between England and Germany

This month, a Volunteer Swap for young people took place for the first time between volunteers from England and Germany. JOIN gave 15 young people and their supervisors the opportunity to experience each other’s areas of activity. From 7th – 11th June, seven young people and four Youth Leaders from St John Ambulance travelled to Nuremberg to join Johanniter Germany at the Protestant 'Kirchentag' (Church Congress). There, the young St John people actively assisted in the various operational areas of Johanniter-Jugend (Johanniter Youth). Two weeks later, from 23rd – 25th June, eight young people and their supervisors travelled from Cologne to London, where Cadets of St John Ambulance awaited them with an exciting programme ending with the festivities of St John’s Day. Continue reading

Project for people with dementia involving our Hungarian and Swedish members

With the help of our Swedish member, Johannita Segitö Szolgálat organised a visit to ‘Silviahemmet’ together with the Hungarian State Secretary and his deputy. Initiated by HM Queen Silvia, Silviahemmet is a Swedish non-profit foundation with the mission to spread knowledge about cognitive illness (dementia) through various educational initiatives. The Hungarian delegation showed deep interest and will organise a three-day training on this topic in Budapest in September.

Volunteer Swap

Registration for the Berlin Marathon open

Johanniter Germany will provide medical services at the Berlin Marathon on 23rd and 24th September 2023. You can join our German member and help with the First Aid coverage of the race. Food and accommodation are provided. If you are interested, find all details here.

Report by an English volunteer at the First Aid competition in Germany

From 5th to 7th May, seven English and twenty Polish volunteers attended ‘Tag der Johanniter’ and joined the First Aid competition of Johanniter Germany as guest teams. The English volunteers were invited by Larissa, the German volunteer who joined St John Ambulance in London, to provide First Aid at the late Queen’s Platinum Jubilee in 2022. Our Polish JOIN member has a longstanding friendship and exchange with its German colleagues and regularly participates in the activities of ‘Tag der Johanniter’. After Alice Guillaume reported her experience, you can now read from Sue Woods and learn about the differences in practice between Johanniter Germany and St John Ambulance here.

Three English and two German volunteers at the Swedish Rock Festival

From 7th to 10th June, the Sweden Rock Festival took place outside the city of Sölvesborg in the south of Sweden. Johanniterhjälpen was joined by three English and two German volunteers who together provided First Aid to the spectators of the annual open-air music event. Read the report by Tina Colwell from St John Ambulance here.

News from the Members

Evacuation and emergency relief operations in Kherson

On 6th June, the dam in Kachowka was partially destroyed. 18.2 billion litres of water were pouring out of the breach and flooding the villages along the Dnipro River. Around 16,000 people are acutely affected by the floods. Johanniter International Assistance fears a significant worsening of the humanitarian situation within the flooded area and warns of the danger of mines being washed away as well as a massive deterioration of the drinking water supply. Continue reading

Johanniter delivers relief supplies following the destruction of the Kakhovka dam

On 8th June, the staff of Johanniter partner organisation NEW DAWN reached the remote villages by boat. On board, they carried drinking water and water filters that can purify 1200 litres of water daily. On the way back, they picked up people and animals to take them to safer areas. The local Johanniter partner organisation ELEOS is also helping with the evacuation. Continue reading

News from Europe

European funding opportunities for first responder organisations

The Horizon Europe’s cluster called ‘Civil Security for Society’ offers funding opportunities for the following topics: Disaster-Resilient Society, Fighting Crime and Terrorism, Border Management, Resilient Infrastructure, Increased Cybersecurity and Support to Security Research and Innovation. The calls for proposal under the topic Disaster-Resilient Society often involve first responders and offer relevant opportunities for JOIN members. Please contact the JOIN Office if you are interested in one or more calls for proposal.

MED1stMR starts field trials with medical first responders all over Europe

The research project MED1stMR is developing innovative mixed reality technology combined with patient simulation manikins to better prepare the medical first responders for complex disaster situations in real life. Starting in July, the developed technology and the associated training program will be tested in training with end-users throughout Europe. In total, more than 200 rescue and emergency paramedics from all over Europe will train with the technology in 1-week training sessions at 6 locations and provide feedback to the research and development team. The first Field Trial will be held in Vienna from 25th to 28th July, led by Johanniter Austria. Continue reading

Johanniter Germany at the VOICE General Assembly 2023

On 22nd May, the European network ‘Voluntary Organisations in Cooperation in Emergencies’ (VOICE) held its Annual General Assembly in Brussels. VOICE is a network of 89 European NGOs active in global humanitarian aid, including Johanniter Germany. The General Assembly included an exchange with the new Director General of DG ECHO, Mr Popowski, the publication of VOICE’s Policy Resolution 2023 “World hunger is rising sharply: let’s stop it now!” and the election of the new Board. Jens Schwalb from our German JOIN member attended the meeting.

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