⛑️ Negotiating Safe Reception: REAS 2026 Highlights Dialogue in Humanitarian Crisis Response

| Press Release |

MONTICHIARI, Italy, October 11, 2026 — How can communities provide safe, dignified reception when time is limited, resources are distributed among stakeholders, and host communities’ needs must be considered alongside those of people fleeing crisis? This question shaped a humanitarian negotiation seminar held Saturday, October 10, at the Montichiari Exhibition Center during REAS 2026, the International Emergency Exhibition.

At the invitation of the Italian Relief Corps of the Order of Malta (CISOM), MFSD and the International School of Negotiation (ISN) helped organize and deliver the seminar for Civil Protection volunteers, civilian and military humanitarian personnel, local government officials, and engaged community members.

The participatory session placed attendees in a simulated crisis. They explored stakeholder perspectives and developed a response balancing protection, logistical feasibility, and peaceful coexistence with the host community.

Jack Cambria’s Contribution: Listening and Empathy in Crisis Situations

The seminar opened with a video interview and message from Jack Cambria, former head of the New York City Police Department’s Hostage Negotiation Team and scientific director of the International School of Negotiation.

He emphasized dialogue, active listening, emotional awareness, and empathy in crisis situations. These skills help practitioners understand needs, build rapport, and create opportunities for constructive engagement under pressure.

“Where Can We Welcome People Fleeing Crisis?”: Urgent Needs and Community Coexistence

The two-hour workshop used a fictional scenario in Valle Serena, a municipality of approximately 8,000 residents facing the sudden arrival of 240 people fleeing serious unrest in a neighboring region.

The newcomers were temporarily housed in the municipal gymnasium, an overcrowded facility with inadequate privacy that had to be returned to schools and local sports associations within 48 hours. Participants had to identify and plan a temporary reception site for families, children, older people, and people with disabilities or health conditions.

Two sites were available, each with advantages and constraints. The fairground offered heavy-vehicle access and connections to water and sewer networks, but it hosted the weekly market, central to the town’s economic and social life. The former municipal plant nursery was near the health clinic but had limited water supply, muddy ground conditions, and a bridge restricting logistics vehicles.

Participants had to address safety, accessibility, sanitation, health care, continuity of local activities, and emergency-response coordination. Site selection therefore also involved decisions about daily living conditions and relations between displaced people and the host community.

Four Perspectives at the Table, One Joint Response

Participants represented four stakeholder groups: the humanitarian organization and volunteers; the municipality and local Civil Protection services; residents and market traders; and people fleeing crisis.

Role briefs gave each group a mandate, priorities, resources, limits, and confidential information. This structure encouraged preparation, purposeful questioning, and attention to the needs behind initial demands.

The exercise focused on integrative negotiation and cooperation through information sharing and coordinated resource use. Issues included preserving the market, ensuring emergency-vehicle access, providing safe drinking water, maintaining proximity to health services, and creating accessible routes for people with reduced mobility.

Participants also emphasized the meaningful involvement of displaced people, who articulated everyday needs and identified ways those being accommodated could contribute to shared site management.

LEGO® SERIOUS PLAY®: Making Needs, Constraints, and Solutions Visible

LEGO® SERIOUS PLAY® supported the role-play through spatial and qualitative mapping. Participants built a model showing accommodation, health and sanitation facilities, water points, access routes, the market, and communal spaces.

The models made the effects of decisions visible. Participants could collectively assess the placement of services, inaccessible routes, and traffic obstructions. This shared representation connected each group’s needs with the site’s organization.

Facilitators introduced additional challenges during the negotiation and led a closing debrief on adaptability, listening, and the relationship between response speed and reception quality.

A Transition Plan Developed by Participants

The seminar’s trainers and facilitators were Lorenzo S. Massucchielli, head of international affairs at CISOM; Pierfrancesco C. Fasano, a CISOM volunteer and scientific director of MFSD; Vittoria Poli, who conceived and co-founded the International School of Negotiation; and Mario Cavolo, research executive and trainer at ISN.

With facilitator support, the simulated stakeholders developed an original transition plan that brought their differing needs into a shared proposal.

The REAS experience demonstrated the operational value of negotiation skills in emergency response. Alongside technical and logistical preparedness, dialogue, listening, and coordination can help uphold human dignity and support community life. The collaboration among CISOM, MFSD, and the International School of Negotiation offered a practical setting to strengthen these capacities through experiential learning, with direct relevance to social cohesion and peacebuilding.