Pandemic preparedness, response, ethical hacking, export, a selection of the topics discussed during the 9th edition of the Biosecurity Knowledge Day. Participants from all corners of the country braved storm Ciarán to come to Amersfoort to gain knowledge and network. The enormous response through the evaluation shows that we can look back on a successful day together with the participants.

10 years BiosecurityOffice

During the 9th edition of the Biosecurity Knowledge Day, we reflected on the 10th anniversary of the Biosecurity Office in the morning. Together with you, we will continue to draw attention to the importance of biosecurity. We do this by continuing to talk to each other and developing products that help with this. Rik concluded the presentation of 10 years of Biosecurity Office with the launch of our latest product, an animated film explaining concepts related to dual-use.

To be prepared for a new pandemic, actions are being taken both internationally and nationally. Lisa Schipper (RIVM) explained which agreements have been made worldwide and what this means for the Netherlands. She also showed what the role of RIVM is in this area.
The morning program was closed by Sijmen Ruwhof (Secundity). Sijmen's contribution gave participants a glimpse into the world of cybersecurity and ethical hacking and increased awareness of digital risks.

Lisa and Sijmen's presentations can be found online in the program of the Biosecurity Knowledge Day 2023.

Parallel sessions

After lunch it was time to get to work ourselves. The general impression of the afternoon sessions is that people were enthusiastic about delving into a specific topic in depth and being able to discuss it with colleagues. The enormous interest in the session 'Response in the event of a biosecurity incident' was striking. At least three-quarters of the participants wanted to attend this session, reason enough to bring this topic back next year.

New this year was the networking session, where you could get acquainted with organizations such as the BVF platform, the National Contact Point for Knowledge Security and the EBSA through a short pitch and then enter into discussions with these organizations and colleagues. The great thing about the networking session was that it flowed seamlessly into the end of the day, the networking drinks.

Save the date – November 7, 2024

The date for the Biosecurity Knowledge Day in 2024 has already been set, but the program is still completely open! The evaluation shows that there is a need for topics such as awareness, diagnostics and response. We take that input into account, but we also like to leave room for new developments and would like to hear what participants need. So if you have any suggestions for next year's program, or would like to contribute something: let us know! [ignore]biosecurity@rivm.nl[/ignore].