Presentation of the objectives and outputs of the ProSPeReS project during the workshop of the twin project SHRINEs

On June 6-7, 2023, a workshop was held in Nice, organized within the framework of the SHRINE project – “Raising Awareness for protection of places of worship by promoting interfaith dIalogue on the use of advanced technologies”. SHRINEs aims to enhance and promote the security of places of worship, creating a multidisciplinary network, building synergies and raising awareness on the use of innovative technologies against security threats.

The University of Lodz was represented by prof. Adrian Siadkowski.  Apart from moderating the session on hate crimes as threats to religious sites, Prof. Siadkowski also presented the mission, vision, goals and products of the “ProSPeReS – Protection System for large gatherings of People in Religious Sites” project, as part of the panel “Introduction of SHRINEs twin projects.”
The thematic sessions also included speeches by representatives of Prosperes project consortium partners Weronika Majewska (Jewish Community of Warsaw) and Alan Wasowski (Archdiocese of Lodz).

Pilot training of the ProSPeReS project

 

From May 31 to June 2, 2023, the first pilot training course of the Prosperes project took place, organized by the Archdiocese of Lodz and the University of Lodz with the participation of the Jewish Community of Warsaw, the WSB University, the Social Observatory, the Provincial Police Headquarters in Lodz and the City Police of Lodz. Prosperes trainers conducted the training based on the program and materials developed by the project consortium. Participants were people responsible for tasks related to security at religious sites, religious personnel and administrators of religious sites, seminary students, organizers of religious events, volunteers, but also police officers working with religious organizations.

The training was designed to provide participants with knowledge and skills in improving security at places of religious worship. The scope of the training included:

  • Introduction to the protection of religious sites – overview of threats, planning and organization of the security system at the facility, examples of good practices.
  • Analysis of the vulnerability of the facility to terrorist attacks, the risk of the threat, its effects and countermeasures (VAT lite).
  • “Security by Design” for places of worship.
  • Technological solutions (CCTV technical equipment, access control, personal equipment).
  • Planning safe gatherings in cooperation with the police and other public services,
  • Selected procedures for preventing and responding to attacks, post-attack response,
  • Training with VR scenarios.

Initial feedback was collected to improve the training materials.

International conference “Current challenges and threats to places of worship in Europe”

International conference “Current challenges and threats to places of worship in Europe”

On 19th May, WSB University hosted an international conference entitled “Current challenges and threats to places of worship in Europe” in premisses of virtual studio. The conference was organised in the framework of an international project – ProSPeReS (Protection System for Large Gatherings of People in Religious Sites) under the European Union Internal Security Fund – Police as the third planned event of WP7, Security Awareness Rising Campaign. The international panel discussion was moderated by Prof. Adrian Siadkowski (AWSB) and aimed at raising awareness of the threats to places of worship and the challenges of ensuring their security from the perspective of different religions.

At the beginning of the conference, Rafał Batkowski, PhD – Key Expert of the ProSPeReS Project and the consortium leader representative from the University of Łódź (Poland), presented the composition of the consortium and the main objectives of the project. Next speaker was Ing. Pavel Truchly – WP7 leader and representative of ISEM Institute (Slovakia).  He introduced the Security awareness rising campaign strategy, main objectives of campaign, ways of communication and also awareness rising campaign products as leaflets, brochures and videos already accessible on project page.

The conference continued by presentation of Mr Ophir Revach – Chief Executive Office of the European Jewish Congress’ Security and Crisis Center (Belgium). Mr Revach presented the security challenges of synagogues in Europe. He emphasised that the extensive experience of the Jewish community in the protection of religious sites can also be implemented in other places of religious worship.

Timo Hellenberg, PhD – President of Hellenberg International (Finland), in his speech on “Current Challenges and threats to places of worship in Europe” presented the general problems of providing security protection in places of worship. The penultimate speaker, Mr Łukasz Grabowski, an expert from the Abikus company responsible for the technical security of the Jasna Góra Shrine (Poland), introduced the audience to the subject of contemporary challenges of ensuring security on the example of the Jasna Góra Shrine. The plenary session ended with a presentation of the results of a risk analysis of walking pilgrimages on the example of a pilgrimage from the Diocese of Sosnowiec presented by Łukasz Szymankiewicz, PhD.

The next part of the conference was a debate with all the participants. A very interesting part of the debate was a discussion with a guest from the Parish of Our Lady of La Palma (Iglesia de Nuestra Señora de la Palma) – Rev. Dominik Kociołek, who spoke about his experience of the terrorist attack in Algeciras.

If you would like to know more about protecting a place of worship, please visit our website for useful materials: www.prosperes.eu

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Protect and Secure Worship

At the “Protect and Secure Worship” International Conference in Nicosia, Cyprus, Marcin Podogrocki and Rafał Batkowski represented the Prosperes project during a panel discussion and various workshops. The conference was organised through Protecting places of worship and PROSECUW. Other EU Internal Security Fund – Police projects were present as well, introducing their findings and innovations at the conference.

Successful protection of places of worship is all about building intercultural and interreligious communities, and collaborative effort. By doing so, places of worship become better protected and more resilient, whilst still remaining the welcoming spaces that they have been for centuries.

 

 

Online conference “Current Challenges and threats to places of worship in Europe”

We are delighted to invite you to attend the online Prosperes conference “Current Challenges and threats to places of worship in Europe” which will be held on 19th May 2023 from 10:00 -13.00 CET, from virtual studio of AWSB in Dabrowa, Poland. The aim of our conference is raising awareness of the threats to places of religious worship and discuss the challenges of ensuring their security from the perspective of different religions. We look forward to welcoming you and would be grateful if you could register your attendance at Link: https://forms.wsb.edu.pl/index.php?r=survey/index&sid=842224&lang=en before 15th May 2023. The web link to online steaming is to be send to registered participants on 17th May 2023. More information can be found in the invitation

ProSPeReS meeting and the networking event with stakeholders in Nicosia, Cyprus

 

On November 29th-30th, 2022, the consortium partners met in Nicosia, CY at the General Assembly meeting complemented by a successful networking meeting with stakeholders in a form of panel discussion “Protection of Religious Sites from Terrorist Attacks”. The events were organized by CARDET – Center for the Advancement of Research & Development in Educational Technology and University of Lodz.

The consortium meeting allows partners to monitor the project progress, the development of the results and to plan the next activities till the end of the project in November 2023. Currently, the works are focused on completing WP3: Preparing the tailor-made security measures for religious sites and WP4: Preparedness for CBRN protection. The main results including: Report on best practices, gaps and needs, Security by design guidebook for religious sites, Guidebook with procedures and tools to prevent, protect, respond and mitigate the result of the terrorist attack as well as Guidelines with basic information on CBRN threats and scenarios collection with reactions’ models. The set of the measures including user-friendly tools like VAT Lite for vulnerability assessment, CBRN scenarios models to identify relevant preventive and response measures or the checklist and the tools to identify gaps in the current protection in the places of worship. The results will be available soon for free use by everyone interested in increasing the protection of places of worship.

The partners discussed the next step about preparing the training materials and conduct the pilot training and large-scale exercises as well as activities and events of the Awareness Rising Campaign. Follow the progress of ProSPeReS on LinkedIn , Facebook , Twitter or YouTube Channel.

Workshop with representatives of faith-based institutions, The Hague on October 26-27, 2022.

The work of the consortium partners of the ProSPeReS project is in progress. The innovative ProSPeReS project aiming at enhancing the security at places of worship, funded by the European Union, has entered the consultation phase, in which it is necessary to obtain the feedback from representatives of religious communities. This time, experts from partners 6 EU countries met in The Hague, the Netherlands at the workshop organized by DISSS , to present the current project’s developments in measures for increasing the protection and discuss it with the “end-users”. Experts, representatives of services responsible for security and public order as well as leaders of religious communities discussed the prepared recommendations for reducing the possibility of unwanted incidents at places of worship – taking into account the risks associated with a potential terrorist attack.

On the first day, leaders of the activities in WP3: Preparing the tailor-made security measures for religious sites and WP4: Preparedness for CBRN protection presented the guidelines, procedures, recommendations and tools elaborated in the project. Then , during the interactive part the participants discussed issues related to administration and management of the religious sites, preparing effective ways to respond to a security threats and designing a secure space for worshippers and pointed out gaps and weaknesses in existing solutions. The lively discussion was accompanied by a search for effective ways to mitigate actual and potential threats. The invited guests, who were leaders and representatives  of religious communities, including the Catholic Church, the Greek Orthodox Church, the Jewish Communities, the Evangelic Church in Finland and Muslim Communities  expressed their opinions on the implemented solutions. The workshop provided several valuable insights, which will be taken into account at a further stage of the ongoing work.

On the second day of the session, a working meeting of the coordinators of the various work packages was held, at which they discussed, among other things, the shape of the future guide containing a set of recommendations, which are especially dedicated for the administrators of religious facilities. Then the workshop participants had the opportunity to visit religious facilities in The Hague, which is a multi-religious city inhabited by representatives of various religions.

 

 

Meeting in The Hague October 26-27, 2022

The activities of the ProSPeReS consortium continue. This time, representatives of the scientific community headed by the University of Lodz, security management of various institutions, public services including the Police and the Fire Department, as well as representatives and leaders or representatives of EU religious communities will meet in The Hague at a workshop organized by DISSS – The Dutch Institute for Safe and Secure Space and the University of Lodz. The issues of the workshop concern the preparation of tailored security measures for religious facilities under WP3. The meeting will be attended by 18 participants from various religious organizations from different European countries and the whole ProSPeReS consortium supported by European Commission, ENLETS network, etc. Joint discussion, exchange of views, and evaluation of previous undertakings within the framework of the ProSPeReS project will undoubtedly contribute to deepening cooperation between stakeholders.

 

The meeting in The Hague at HSD (SecurityDelta)

In this week, Rafał Batkowski a key expert in the ProSPeReS project attended a meeting in The Hague at HSD (SecurityDelta). The event was part of the EU I-Lead Industry & Research Days organized by the Polish Platform for Homeland Security (PPBW) in cooperation with ENLETS and the Dutch Police. In addition to the presentation of many of the latest security technologies, it was also a time of extremely fruitful discussions and deliberations – including the participation of the vice mayor of The Hague and the deputy chief of the Dutch police. The visit is related to the implementation of the PROSPERES project, which aims to search for the best methods of protecting public places from terrorist threats.

ESTONIAN STAKEHOLDER WORKSHOP

An extensive Stakeholder Workshop was held in Tallinn, Estonia, from August 29 to September 1, 2022. The purpose of the events was to raise awareness among Estonians about the goals and results of the ISFP EU – Prossperes project. The project was represented at the event on behalf of the Project Leader by Pro Dean Prof. Michal Bijak, University of Lodz, Prof. Adrian Siadkowski WSB University and CEO Dr. Timo Hellenberg, Hellenberg International.

The project’s goals and available products for stakeholders and end users were presented at meetings at the Estonian Ministry of Culture, where Anne-Ly Reimaa, head of international relations, received the project delegation, and at St. Mary’s Cathedral (Toomkirik) with Dean Arho Tuhkru.