As part of the 18th session of the Intergovernmental Coordination Group for the Early Warning and Mitigation of Tsunamis in the North-East Atlantic, Mediterranean and Related Seas (ICG/NEAMTWS), held at UNESCO Headquarters in Paris from 6 to 8 February 2024, Alessandro Amato, Research Director of the National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology (INGV), was elected President (Chair) of the Intergovernmental Coordination Group for the Early Warning and Tsunami Mitigation System () of the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission of UNESCO (). the ICG/NEAMTWS is one of the four global Intergovernmental Groups under the coordination of the Commission (the others are those of the Pacific Ocean, the Indian Ocean and the Caribbean (Western Atlantic).
Alongside Alessandro Amato, Ignacio Aguirre Ayerbe of IHCantabria (Spain) and Amr Zakaria Mohamad Hamouda of NIOF (National Institute For Oceanography & Fisheries, Egypt) were elected as Vice-Presidents.
"I am honored by this nomination, for which I must thank my colleagues at the Tsunami Warning Center who have supported me over these years. My commitment will be dedicated to achieving the safety and protection of coastal communities against tsunami risk, an often underestimated risk in our seas. Collaboration between all international institutions, research and monitoring institutes, civil protection agencies, universities, is the best force to mitigate the risk”, declared Alessandro Amato.
From the left; Denis Chang-Seng, Technical Secretary of the ICG/NEAMTWS; Alessandro Amato, INGV, newly elected Chair of the ICG/NEAMTWS; Alexander Rudloff, GFZ, President of the Electoral Committee, Maria Ana Baptista, University of Lisbon, Portugal, outgoing Chair of the ICG/NEAMTWS; Amr Zakaria, NIOF, Egypt, and Ignacio Aguirre Ayerbe, IHCantabria, Spain, both elected Vice-Chair of the ICG/NEAMTWS.