In a quiet Estonian village of 1000 residents a group of people practice life-saving skills: its not just another day at school. A local kindergarten teacher guides 200-plus citizens through evacuation drills (something that became more real since the ukraine conflict started)
In far-away Taiwan similar scenes play out as Kuma Academy trains everyday people in first-aid and emergency response. Created about 3 years ago the academy sees growing interest from locals who watch Chinaʼs military moves with careful attention; a new TV show called Zero Day adds to peoples interest in preparedness
The world changed a lot since cold-war times when duck-and-cover drills were common – now threats are different but just as real. Modern problems include cyber-attacks data breaches and info-wars which need new ways of defense
- Energy system protection
- Communication networks safety
- Food and supply chains
- Health system readiness
- Transport security
NATOʼs recently-made Resilience Committee works with these issues while Taiwan builds its own five-part defense plan worth about $26.4 billion. Both sides face similar challenges – Lai Ching-teʼs government puts extra focus on keeping energy supplies safe since Taiwan needs to import almost all its power
Recent events show why such planning matters: a Chinese ship cut an undersea cable near Finlands coast last fall; similar things happened 27 times near Taiwans Matsu Islands in just 5 years. These incidents make clear that infrastructure needs better protection
Private companies play a big part in this new kind of defense but need to work better with governments. Countries share what they learn: the American Chambers of Commerce in Taiwan and Ukraine now trade notes on how businesses can get ready for hard times
The Estonian Red Cross puts it simple: knowing basic first-aid could save many lives in real trouble. Thatʼs why regular people from small towns to big cities learn these skills – because being ready isnt just about military strength its about everyone working together