Places of worship around Europe and the world are in increased danger in the last years due the terrorist attacks and an augmentation of hate crimes. These places serve not only individuals but also families and people in need. It is therefore essential that people, the professionals and other experts working in and for these places of worship, as well as the wider community can feel safe, included and equal in such places and this should be a top priority among local and national stakeholders. One of the various ways to improve protection and security in places of worship is the engagement of the community in the protection efforts.

The main aim of the project is to establish cooperation between public authorities and faith-based leaders and congregations aiming at a better understanding of security threats, promotion of awareness raising activities and the creation of manuals for sharing best practices and relevant tools among EU stakeholders.

The general objective of PROSECUW is to enhance protection at places of worship in European countries by setting up cooperation between public authorities (especially law enforcement agents), religious leaders and congregants. The cooperation will be established in various forms and through communication and information for a better understanding of hate speech/crime and terrorist threats that places of worship face in terms of security.

The specific objectives are:

• Training activities for local law enforcement/security agents, public authorities and religious leaders that would form mixed committees for enhanced security
• Creation of a best practices manual and policy recommendations based on the project’s training activities will be ready to be shared EU-wide
• Awareness-raising on enhancing protection and security in places of worship

The PROSECUW partnership consists of a selective group of experts, academics, and professionals in the field of training, research, protection, security, diversity, equality and inclusion for places of worship:

Center for Social Innovation (CSI) - Cyprus (Project Leader)

Akademie Klausenhof (AK) – Germany

Universidade Lusofona (COFAC) – Portugal

Research and Education in Social Empowerment and Transformation (RESET) – Cyprus

Center of Ecumenical, Missiological and Environmental Studies - Metropolitan Panteleimon Papageorgiou (CEMES) – Greece

Find out more about the project by visiting the official PROSECUW website at www.prosecuwproject.eu and the official PROSECUW social media on Facebook @prosecuw and on Instagram @prosecuw, and join us for a potential collaboration on protection, security, inclusion and equality in places of worship!