The IcARUS mid-term conference is opening soon in Riga, Latvia, on 12-13 May!

Follow the livestream provided by the City de Riga !

Paris, France, May 2022 – IcARUS, which seeks to draw on the experience garnered over more than three decades through research and practice by Efus and its members throughout Europe to upgrade the crime prevention tools and methods used by local security actors, will hold its mid-term conference in Riga (Latvia), on 12-13 May. 

Efus invites all interested members to register for this groundbreaking event, which will take place immediately after its yearly General Assembly meeting. The on-site event will be a unique opportunity for members to benefit from the research and work carried out by the IcARUS partners since the launch of the project, in September 2020, as well as to meet in person and to network. 

Some 140 participants expected

Some 140 participants are expected, including the whole IcARUS consortium and members of the Expert Advisory Board and Consultative Committee of Cities, as well as Efus members and other stakeholders, notably from similar projects. 

Based on IcARUS’ in-depth research on 35 years of urban security policies and practices in Europe, the programme includes interactive workshops, keynote speeches and panels and will address the following issues: 

  • how to foster young people’s resilience, 
  • the design and management of safe public spaces, 
  • challenges of prevention in a changing landscape of radicalisation, 
  • technology and urban security, 
  • the current needs and challenges of European cities in terms of urban security, 
  • experiential sessions on the Design Thinking methodology that is used throughout the IcARUS project. 

The speakers

Besides Efus, represented notably by its President, Mayor of Liège (Belgium) Willy Demeyer, and its Vice President, First Deputy Mayor of Mannheim (Germany) Christian Specht, a wide-ranging panel of speakers will present and/or moderate sessions: representatives of local authorities and local police, academia, and civil society organisations. 

These are, among others: 

  • Prof. Adam Crawford, University of Leeds; 
  • Prof. Caroline L. Davey, University of Salford; 
  • Monica Diniz, Municipal Police Lisbon, 
  • Prof. Paul Ekblom, Visiting Professor, University College London; 
  • Massimo Fattori, Erasmus University of Rotterdam; 
  • Prof. Daniel Gatica-Perez, IDIAP research institute; 
  • Britta Hecking, Camino GmbH; 
  • Barbara Holtmann, Fixed; 
  • Valeria Lacova, City of Turin; 
  • Gian Guido Nobili, Region of Emilia Romagna and Executive Director of the Italian Forum for Urban Security (FISU); 
  • Prof. Markus Pausch, Salzburg University of Applied Sciences; 
  • Vassilis Roussakis, KEMEA.

About IcARUS

IcARUS’ objective is to re-think, design and adapt tools and methods to help local actors anticipate and better respond to constantly evolving security challenges. The basis of this comprehensive endeavour is the strategic approach to urban security that Efus has long been promoting. IcARUS corresponds to Efus’ long-term objectives, notably the involvement of a wide array of local actors and citizens in local urban security policies, the co-production of  concrete solutions and thus the reinforcement of a ‘whole-of-society’ approach to urban security. The toolkit and project results and recommendations will be made accessible to other local and regional authorities, decision makers and practitioners all over Europe. 

> Register for the conference (free of charge)

> The programme

> More information on IcARUS on our website

> Follow IcARUS on Efus Network (members only)