Small towns and big plans: How regular people prepare for the worst in Estonia and Taiwan
Citizens in Estonia and Taiwan take action to build stronger communities through defense training. Local initiatives show how everyday people adapt to modern-day challenges while governments create new safety plans
In a quiet Estonian village a remarkable scene unfolds - Maria Tamm (a local teacher) guides 200-plus people through emergency drills. Its not just another practice: the nearby Ukraine conflict makes this training feel very real-world
The same spirit shows up halfway across the globe where Chen Wei-ting leads Kuma Academyʼs citizen-readiness programs in Taiwan. After seeing what happened in Ukraine about 2 years ago‚ lots of locals signed up to learn first-aid and evacuation skills; theyʼre extra-motivated by Chinaʼs military exercises near their shores
During cold-war times people knew what to do in emergencies (like those duck-and-cover drills) but nowadays we face different threats - cyber-attacks data breaches and fake news. NATOʼs new-ish Resilience Committee works on fixing these problems: they focus on stuff like food supply communications and health systems
- Energy supplies
- Information security
- Emergency response
- Public communications
- Healthcare readiness
Taiwanʼs own defense plan (which started last summer) puts about 26 billion dollars into similar things. Theyʼre super-focused on keeping their power grid safe and making sure people can talk to each other if something goes wrong - especially since they depend on outside sources for almost all their energy needs
Recent events show why this matters: last fall a weird accident with a Chinese ship cut an undersea cable between Estonia and Finland; it took half-a-year to fix. Taiwanʼs had similar problems - their Matsu Islands lost internet 27 times in 5 years because of cut cables (some say its not just accidents)
Ukrainians say that if the population would have known how to use first aid skills it would have saved many more lives
Private companies need to step up too - they cant just wait for government help. Some business groups in Taiwan and Ukraine started sharing tips on how to stay ready‚ and thats the kind of teamwork that makes communities stronger. The key is getting everyone involved: regular folks companies and government all working together
