Photo credit – Mathieu Surpin

At the beginning of the year 2022, I would like to start by extending my best wishes to everyone who reads this newsletter of the Global First Aid Reference Centre. First aid is both a heritage that obliges us and a challenge that motivates us. I am all the more sensitive to this as it was through first aid that I discovered the French Red Cross, becoming a first aider at the age of 17, like so many of the volunteers working with us.

First aid training is surely one of the most visible facets of the Red Cross and Red Crescent National Societies, which makes us recognized everywhere and by everyone. It is a legacy that has lasted for 163 years and which we must maintain. The General Assembly of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies in June will be an opportunity to reaffirm the major role that National Societies play in the promotion, provision and development of first aid, both technically and educationally.

The French Red Cross has made this a priority issue by adopting its 2030 strategy last September. It is even the first of our three strategic pillars: prevention and education. Every year, more than 110,000 people are initiated or trained by the French Red Cross in first aid. These thousands of citizens are now able to protect themselves and save lives. Educating and preventing means giving everyone the possibility to face crisis situations, it means allowing everyone to act as close as possible, on the corner of the street or in their homes. More than ever, it means building the resilience of our society in the face of multiple crises.

To meet this challenge, we must be able to offer everyone, whatever their age, situation or possible disability, training in life-saving techniques. This is the path of an inclusive civic education that we must set out and offer at every stage of life. To achieve this, we need to modernise our training offer so that it corresponds to the times and to each individual. A more hybrid offer that takes advantage of the opportunities offered by digital technology and e-learning. A more modular offer, which adapts to the needs of each individual, depending on their age and situation. A more innovative offer, which allows citizens to have enough confidence to act in a situation of distress. Under these conditions, first aid will be a lifesaver for everyone.

In a changing world with many upheavals, empowering citizens to act is essential. Each Red Cross and Red Crescent Society has developed its own expertise and knowledge in first aid, specific to its history and territory. I particularly welcome the major role played by the Global First Aid Reference Centre (GFARC) in disseminating this knowledge, sharing knowledge and achievements, and analysing new vulnerabilities. In this field, as in so many others, it is through cooperation that we will be able to take up, together, the challenges to come, such as that of preparing populations for disasters or training volunteers.

Philippe DA COSTA
President of the French Red Cross