BSFS: The Launch Event
The Piraeus Municipal Theatre, the most emblematic building of the city, opened its gates to welcome the public and the city’s stakeholders on the official launch of the Be Secure – Feel Secure project (BSFS). The guests had the chance to get introduced to the project and to learn more about urban security.
Audience
BSFS Team
Venue
The event started with a welcome speech by Piraeus’ Deputy Mayor of Communication – Promotion & Media with responsibilities in Utilization of European & National Resources, Mrs. Andriana Zarakeli who spoke about the importance of projects that enhance urban security and the expectations the Municipality has from BSFS.
Mrs. Zarakeli
Mrs. Zarakeli pointed out in her speech that:
“The issue of urban security and the successful primary prevention of delinquency cases in local government is a modern common challenge not only for EU countries but for the rest of the world, as well. The project Be Secure – Feel Secure approaches the issue of urban security, in an innovative and modern way. The Municipal Authority is committed to assist in this effort. We wish good luck to the program and we expect the beneficial utilization of the results for the collective good and interest”.
The guests were then greeted by a prerecorded video by Ms. Camille Degryse on behalf of the UIA Initiative.
The partners’ representatives took turns on stage to present the BSFS initiative, its goals and objectives, its methods and the interventions that are being planned as well as the role of each partner in the scope of the project.
The speakers in order of appearance:
- Mr. Michael Bourmpos, Director of IT for the Municipality of Piraeus, Project Μanager of BSFS
- Mr. Marios Zacharias, Space Hellas, Technical Manager of BSFS
- Prof. Christina Zarafonitou , Urban Criminology Lab of Panteion University, Scientific Supervisor of BSFS
- Mrs. Giannoula Chalvatzi, Ministry of Citizen Protection – European and Development Programs Division
- Mr. Stelios Pantelopoulos, Singular Logic
- Prof. Christos Douligeris, University of Piraeus Research Center
- Mr. Socrates Kostikoglou, Space Hellas
- Ms. Eszter Karacsony, European Forum for Urban Security (Efus) – via prerecorded video
Mrs. Edna Peza (BSFS UIA expert) also participated with a prerecorded video on the importance of practicing a modern approach in urban security, which aired in this first part.
The second part of the event begun with the presentation of the newly formed Local Council for Crime Prevention (LCCP) by Mrs. Kyriaki Bourdakou, Deputy Mayor of Municipal Police and president of the LCCP.
Kyriaki Bourdakou
Mrs. Bourdakou stated, among others, that:
“The LCCP will try to intervene in combating those social factors that lead some of our fellow citizens to delinquency (poverty, misery, family issues and school relationships, unemployment, etc.) and referred to a series of initiatives that will be undertaken by the LCCP”.
Criminology Professor Christina Zarafonitou gave a presentation on the “Current trends in community crime prevention in Greece”.
Brigadier General Mr. Protosilaos Kostazos, spoke about the new challenges in crime prevention and the role of the police and closed the section.
In the third and last part of the conference, representatives from the project’s technical partners talked about technology under the prism of Urban Security.
Mr. Spyros Papastergiou and Mr. Dimitris Kallergis from the University of Piraeus Research Centre (UPRC) talked about the Methodology and development of the “Collaborative Urban Risk Management Platform” (CURiM)
Mr. Socrates Kostikoglou from Space Hellas, presented “Increasing citizens’ sense of security and reducing fear of crime.”
Lastly, Dr. Kostas Davarakis of Singular Logic talked about the “SPIRIT Tools: Developing technologies for prevention, investigation, and mitigation in the context of fight against crime and terrorism”.
The launch event audience consisted of distinguished guests from local authorities, LCCPs, urban security authorities (i.e. police, civil protection, etc.), local collective bodies (i.e. chambers of commerce), schools, academics, researchers, cybersecurity stakeholders and companies, policy makers etc.
Urban security
