In recent years, we have witnessed a range of serious emergencies and disasters across Europe and the world, including terrorist incidents such as the World Trade Center attack in New York on 11 September 2001, the Madrid train bombings in March 2004, the London Underground and bus bombings of July 2005, the Turkish bombing campaign of August 2006, earthquakes in Turkey and Japan and devastating fires including the Rhode Island disco fire of 2003 and the Kamyshevatskaya (Russia) Nursing Home fire of 2007. Did culture play a role in determining how the people in these events responded? The results demonstrated in the BeSeCu book demark first steps in order to improve the planning of emergency/disaster management and evacuations as well as for informing future research.'The rarity with which people experience emergencies underscores the value of learning from survivors real life experiences during such events and in turn designing effective tests based upon this. The BeSeCu project will underpin the ability to use current approaches more effectively or, perhaps more importantly, develop new approaches.Ann Millington, Chief Executive, Kent Fire and Rescue Service