Project

GATHERINGS (Common Standards for Security, Privacy and Cost of the Surveillance of Public Gatherings)

2023

The GATHERINGS project (Common Standards for Security, Privacy and Cost Of the Surveillance of Public Gatherings) aims to provide a better understanding of how surveillance technologies are governed and more specifically to improve the efficacy of surveillance in order to render public gatherings safer; to increase the fairness and transparency of surveillance by making it more privacy-friendly; and to boost feasibility of surveillance for involved stakeholder by making it more cost-effective, both economically and socially.

The second overarching purpose is to identify gaps in terms of awareness among professionals and citizens, and bringing about international harmonisation of good practices and common standards with regard to the privacy-friendly, socially sensitive, cost-effective surveillance of safer public gatherings.

The GATHERINGS project can be defined in terms of the following objectives:

Objective 1: To understand the competing needs and interests of different stakeholders in relation to largescale surveillance of public gatherings;

Objective 2: To raise awareness among citizens about different forms of surveillance in public spaces and about applicable rights;

Objective 3: To strengthen the protection of public spaces while reducing the need for continuous and expensive data collection and storage;

Objective 4: To foster a proportionate and justified use of surveillance systems and collected personal data;

Objective 5: To encourage cross-border exchange of good practices in relation to the surveillance of public spaces among Police Authorities in EU Member States.

To achieve the aforementioned objectives, the GATHERINGS project will:

  • develop common standards, to maximise privacy and data protection in surveillance practices;
  • develop an accessible matrix, to be used by surveillance professionals, local administrations, and event organisers, to weigh security against privacy, economic cost, and social impact;
  • set up an international Community of Practitioners (CoP) network of surveillance professionals, administrations, experts, policymakers and citizens;
  • develop an awareness-raising programme for citizens and civil society;
  • develop an awareness-raising programme for surveillance professionals;
  • formulate policy recommendations;
  • search for synergies with other ongoing security research projects.
Details
Start date
1 October 2023
Duration
36 months
Reference No.
101121200
Leading organization
Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB)
Partner
European Institute
Project cover

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