On 6-7 June 2023 the SHRINEs project has organized its First Workshop on assessment of threats and vulnerabilities to places of worship. The event was held by the Consistoire de Nice and took place in the magnificent venue of the Centre Universitaire Méditerranéen (Nice, France) with more than 50 people attending it. Among them, the local authorities of the City of Nice, French Jewish Communities representatives, members of Département des Alpes-Maritimes, CRIF and the Association SOS-Armenie Côte d’Azur.
The workshop was opened by Anthony Borré (First Deputy Mayor of Nice), Federico Benolli (SHRINEs Project Director from SAFE Foundation), Dr. Marco Dugato (Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore-Transcrime) and Marc Benveniste on behalf of the Presidency of the Consistoire de Nice.
In this framework religious leaders, invited experts and Consortium members had the opportunity to discuss on natural, man-made and cross-cutting vulnerabilities that affect places of worship. Specifically, the religious partners had the chance to offer their insights on their perceived or experienced threats, while international experts provided their knowledge and best practices in managing threats and hazards against cultural and non-cultural heritage sites.
During the first day, several thematic sessions were organized, including safety risks and accidents, violent or hate crimes (religiously or politically motivated), as well as property crimes, vandalism and other violent crimes (not religiously or politically motivated).
Moreover, key EU-funded projects (such as PARTES, PROSPERES, PROTONE and SHIELD) joined the event and had the opportunity to present their activities, providing inputs and boosts to build synergies and foster collaboration for the protection of places of worship, demonstrating a sound commitment between Twin projects funded by the ISF-P programme.
The second day provided the opportunity to discuss about additional thematic sessions, covering emerging issues, such as public health emergencies and crowd risks, environmental hazards and natural disasters.
Finally, the Workshop was an occasion for the project partners to collect and validate relevant information about sensitive and emerging natural and man-made threats to places of worship. The event was also a unique opportunity to provide the basis for the initial assessment of threats and vulnerabilities that SHRINEs will undertake, as a critical step towards a better understanding of all the risks faced by places of worship, and thus, pave the way for the identification of suitable technological and procedural solutions, including their tailored exploitation.
In conclusion to the Workshop, a Consortium meeting was held at the headquarters of the Consistoire de Nice to discuss on the preliminary results of the Workshop as well as to plan the incoming activities of the SHRINEs project.