Paris, France, November 2018 – The two-and-a-half year-long Medi@4sec project on the role and impact of social media on security, in which Efus is a partner, will end in December with a closing event on “The future of data: the case of urban security” organised by Efus on 7 December near Paris (Montreuil – FR). This will also be the launch of Efus’ new working group on “Innovation and Security”, which will follow up on the work started with the project and broaden reflections further.
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> “The future of data: the case of urban security”
The Paris event will include a general presentation of the project, its results, practices and recommendations as well as ‘zoom’ sessions on specific topics tackled through the project and a workshop on the needs of local security actors and how social media can cater to them.
The workshop will notably address how local authorities can exploit the vast amount of data collected through social networks at a time when cities are becoming ‘smart’ and hyperconnected. Local authorities will be able to strengthen their security and crime prevention policies and better assess the risks posed by these platforms and their hyperconnectivity on urban security.
>Furthering the reflection on the role of cities in the use of social media for public security
The Medi@4sec project organised the last two dissemination events, in Riga (Latvia) and Bologna (Italy), in order to share the project’s conclusions and recommendations and further the reflection on the role of cities in the use of social media for public security.
The Riga event focused on new threats and crime that have appeared through social media, such as trolling. This term has a broad meaning and refers to harassment, sextortion, revenge porn, cyberstalking, naming and shaming, etc.
Such violence and online crime also have consequences in the real, offline world, such as anti-social behaviour, polarisation, hate crime and suicide, notably among the young. Security actors can play a key preventive role as well as raise awareness, either at the national, international or local level.
The Bologna event was devoted to communication with law enforcement agencies and the population and how it has evolved and increased with the emergence of social media. It was an opportunity to present several experiences of Italian cities (Milan, Trieste, Riccione) that have developed innovative methods to recover stolen bicycles, to build narrative threads around urban security issues. This event brought together some 80 people from local Italian authorities, police force, academic world and press.
The Medi@4sec final event on 7 December near Paris (Montreuil – FR) will be held in English and French. It is open to all: Efus members, local authorities, institutions, the volunteer sector, private sector, universities. For more information, please contact Pilar De La Torre: delatorre@efus.eu and/or Myassa Djebara: djebara@efus.eu – Subscribe by following this link.