Safer and Stronger Communities in Europe

ended

SASCE is a multi-layered project to dramatically increase security in and around places of worship, as well as within and between Christian, Buddhist, Muslim and Jewish communities. Building and expanding on the good practices recommended by the Commission for the protection of public spaces, but also relying on the knowledge and expertise of well-organized communities and security groups, the consortium will: (i) develop concrete tools, which, associated with (ii) training, wider communications and the use of (iii) technology solutions, will be instrumental in achieving a high-level of protection of EU citizens, in full cooperation with authorities throughout the EU. The consortium will (i) develop content (videos, brochures, guidelines, guides, training material, etc), it will then (ii) create and train a network of ambassadors on the use of this content, and then disseminate it through (iii) trainings and briefings in and around communities, as well as (iv) wider communication campaigns (cooperation with authorities, conferences, social media dissemination). In parallel, the consortium will carry out a (v) large scale pilot using technology-enhanced security solutions in 1000 places of worship. The project will impact beneficiaries in 15 EU member states. In the short-term, partners will leverage their network to engage 183 places of worship in security trainings. 1000 places of worship will benefit from technology-enhanced security solutions, constituting a further layer of engagement. Lastly, recognizing the importance of building trust and cooperation between civil society and national authorities, the project will facilitate formalized channels of communication between community leadership and public enforcement authorities. Beyond these direct short, medium and long term beneficiaries, the project will indirectly impact EU citizens, by building broad awareness through wider communication campaigns about the security needs of faith-based communities.