European Strategies Consulting

The PARTESS-COM project – Participatory approaches to protecting places of worship, schools, and community centres – aims to enhance the security of religious communities and educational institutions across Europe by developing adaptable, inclusive, and cutting-edge security concepts. The project brings together scientific research, digital innovation, and community engagement to promote prevention, preparedness, and resilience in the face of contemporary security threats.

Main Objectives:

  • Develop a comprehensive, state-of-the-art knowledge hub for securing places of worship and schools.
  • Build capacity within religious and educational communities through EU-wide training, simulations, and tool demonstrations.
  • Encourage citizen involvement in security by facilitating incident reporting and awareness through a dedicated app.
  • Foster cross-sector collaboration and institutionalized communication among local authorities, religious groups, civil society, and law enforcement.

 

Key Activities:

  • Creation of a digital platform and mobile app integrating best practices, contextual security models, and user-friendly tools for reporting incidents.
  • Organisation of targeted training programs, simulations, and demonstrations across Europe.
  • Launch of a wide-reaching awareness campaign promoting civic engagement and vigilance around security in faith-based and educational settings.
  • Coordination of stakeholder networks to ensure collaborative development and dissemination of security strategies.

 

Expected Results:

  • An operational online knowledge hub and reporting app for use across the EU.
  • Enhanced capacity of religious and educational institutions to prevent and respond to threats.
  • Increased engagement of citizens in reporting security-relevant incidents.
  • Greater sense of safety among community members through participatory security efforts.

 

Funding: €2,017,976.13 under the ISF-2024-TF2-AG-PROTECT programme.

 

Partners:

Osterreichisches Intitut fur Internationale Ppolitik (OIIP) / Austria (Coordinator)

SCENOR / Austria

Stichting European Foundation for South Aasian Studies (EFSAS) / Netherlands

Violence Prevention Network (VPN) / Germany

Fundacion Euroarabe de Altos Estudios (FUNDEA) / Spain

Nodibinajums “Latvijas Evangeliski luteriskas Baznicas Diakonijas centrs” (DLV) / Latvia

Kentro Meleton Asfaleias (KEMEA) / Greece

Association Militants des Savoirs (MDS) / France

Enhancing Faith Institutions (EFI) / Ireland

European Strategies Consulting (ESC) / Romania

Ayuntamiento de Murcia (Murcia Police) / Spain

Uniwersytet Lodzki/ Poland

Universita Cattolica del Sacro Cuore (UCSC) / Italy

Iztochnoevropeyski Forum za Dialog Mostove – BRIDGES / Bulgaria

Dublin City Interfaith Forum Company Limited by Guarantee (DCIF) / Ireland

Erzdiozese Wien / Austria

The European Forum for Urban Security (EFUS) / France

Jüdisches Zentrum Synagoge Fraenkelufer (JZSF) / Germany

Lukasz Lazewski Informatics Spolka Komandytowo-Akcyjna (LLI) / Poland