Month: May 2026

The Euro-Arab Presents the VANGUARD Project to Guardia Civil Anti-Trafficking Unit at Madrid

On 22 May 2026, the Euro-Arab Foundation researcher, Karen Latricia Hough, alongside Despoina Chatzakou and Theoni Spath from CERTH, Roberto Acquaviva (ENG) and Sara Diez and Jiang Zhicheng (Bull), delivered an online presentation of the Horizon Europe VANGUARD Project to the Anti-Trafficking Unit of the Guardia Civil at Madrid Headquarters.

The session showcased the project’s innovative approach to combating trafficking in human beings through the integration of advanced AI-supported technologies, operational intelligence tools, and multidisciplinary social-scientific research. The presentation highlighted how the VANGUARD project is developing ethical, human-centred, and technologically advanced solutions to strengthen the prevention, detection, and investigation of trafficking networks across Europe.

Key social-scientific findings emerging from the project’s ongoing research activities were presented, including insights into evolving trafficking patterns, victim protection considerations, and policy recommendations aimed at enhancing operational responses and cross-border cooperation among law-enforcement and security stakeholders. Researchers also conducted an online demonstration of the VANGUARD ToolSuite, presenting capabilities designed to support law-enforcement authorities in identifying trafficking activities, analysing complex criminal networks, and improving intelligence-led investigations.

Funded under the European Union’s Horizon Europe Programme, the VANGUARD Project brings together leading research organisations, technology providers, and security stakeholders to advance innovative, ethical, and collaborative solutions against trafficking in human beings.

The Euro-Arab Foundation is part of the consortium of this project, which began in 2023 and is scheduled to conclude in December of this year, 2026.

News Projects victory

Seminar on Restaurative Justice and Victims of Hatred and Extremism in the Basque Country

Last Tuesday, May 19, the Historical Archive of the Basque Country—home to the Gogora Institute for Memory in Bilbao—hosted the seminar “Victim-Centered Justice and Contribution to Coexistence in the Basque Country: Experiences from the VicTory Project.” The event, organised by the Ararteko (the Ombudsman of the Basque Country) alongside the Euro-Arab Foundation for Higher Studies, was held within the framework of the VicTory project, funded by the European Commission and coordinated by the Euro-Arab Foundation.

The gathering was designed as a space for dialogue on a model of justice that goes beyond resolving conflicts by simply applying the law, focusing instead on active listening to victims, offenders, and the community. Similarly, participants—including institutional representatives, experts, and young people—reflected on how to build a coexistence sustained by justice, recognition, and humanity in the Basque Country, highlighting the intergenerational dimension and the commitment to a more inclusive society.

The VicTory project is committed to putting victims at the center, preventing secondary victimization, and promoting models of dialogue and reparation for harm. This seminar highlighted the value of restorative justice as a key tool for healing social wounds.

This project provides both justice professionals and NGO victim support workers with factsheets that reflect lessons learned and a series of recommendations.

Download them here:

News

Workshop on the Role of Gender Perspective in Online Radicalisation and Social Reintegration

Within the framework of the European EU Mutual Job Shadowing program and in collaboration with the EU Knowledge Hub on Prevention of Radicalisation, the Euro-Arab Foundation has hosted a key technical workshop titled “Gendered Pathways from online radicalisation to custodial disengagement and reintegration.”

The event featured presentations by Dr. Chafiaa Djouadi, from the French organisation Militants des Savoirs, and Mr. Salvador Berdún, a Spanish expert in the field and head of ACAIP Research Department. Both specialists shed light on the crucial need to integrate a gender perspective into all scientific and operational research focusing on online radicalisation processes, prison stays, disengagement, and the subsequent reintegration of individuals.

Gender as a Central Axis of Radicalisation

During the session, it was emphasised that the gender perspective should not be viewed as a peripheral issue, but rather as the very core of current radicalisation dynamics, spanning from jihadism and the far-right to the incel phenomenon. According to the experts, radicalised women often operate as recruiters, facilitators, or ideological support within these networks, though frequently under dynamics of subordination to men, a factor that requires meticulous analysis to formulate effective responses.

Furthermore, the speakers agreed that psychological care and guidance during the disengagement process, which necessarily begins within the correctional environment, must have guaranteed continuity outside of prison. This transition is essential to ensuring a real, effective, and long-term social reintegration.

By hosting this technical seminar, the organizing institutions reaffirm their commitment to advancing public safety and evidence-based social intervention, placing the gender perspective as a priority axis in the design of policies for preventing violent radicalisation (PVE/CVE).

Intercepted News Projects

Third Steering Committee Meeting of the European Project INTERCEPTED

The INTERCEPTED consortium held its third Steering Committee meeting last week alongside its synergistic initiative, OSINT RADAR.

The meeting marked an operational turning point, with the Venice Local Police taking over as the new general coordinator for both projects (INTERCEPTED and OSINT RADAR). This unified leadership ensures long-term strategic integration, transforming planning into immediate and sustainable operational actions..

The technical teams presented deliverables of strategic value, notably comprehensive analysis reports, methodologies for operational meetings, and an innovative technological roadmap designed for detecting digital crimes. Concurrently, specialized training sessions aimed at various stakeholders, such as police officers, judicial practitioners and stakeholders from the private sector (labour inspectors, welfare agencies, CSOs supporting victims, internet hosting providers) are being implemented , focusing on mastering these new digital investigation tools and platforms to tackle traffic in human beings (THB). These training activities will subsequently be followed by live prototyping sessions and the establishment of interagency teams across the participating countries.

The INTERCEPTED project maintains its steadfast goal of disrupting THB digital business models by intercepting online recruitment and advertisement on internet platforms. These objectives will be achieved by strengthening digital intelligence as well as cross-border and multi-agency cooperation among law enforcement agencies, judicial practitioners and private-sector actors.

As the project enters its final phase, new awareness-raising and dissemination campaigns will soon be launched to showcase these advancements before the project formally concludes in December 2026.

News Projects SHIELDed EN

The Euro-Arab Foundation and the Madrid Municipal Police organise the National SHIELDed Workshop

Fotografía cedida por Policía Municipal de Madrid

On April 27, the National Workshop of the SHIELDed project took place at the Headquarters of the Madrid Municipal Police, during a session jointly organised by the Euro-Arab Foundation and the city’s Municipal Police.

The meeting brought together around 25 participants from law enforcement agencies, mainly the Madrid Municipal Police and the Guardia Civil, religious communities, the Public Prosecutor’s Office, public administrations, and civil society organisations based in Madrid and operating nationwide.

During the session, participants analysed the main risks, vulnerabilities, and challenges related to the protection of places of worship and other religious spaces in Spain. The workshop also served to promote interfaith dialogue, multisectoral cooperation, and the development of coordinated responses to hate crimes and extremist threats.

The program included specialised presentations, participatory working groups, and a solutions lab focused on developing communication protocols and action plans aimed at strengthening prevention, protection, and response capacity in the event of possible incidents.

SHIELDed is a European project focused on the protection of places of worship and religious sites against extremist threats, hate-motivated attacks, and other security risks. The initiative promotes a comprehensive approach based on cooperation between public authorities, law enforcement agencies, religious communities, and civil society, fostering prevention, training, and coordination tools to strengthen the resilience and security of these spaces in Europe.

The SHIELDed national workshops are spaces for collaboration and joint work promoted in different European countries with the aim of bringing together key stakeholders to identify common challenges, share best practices, and design coordinated strategies for the protection of places of worship and the prevention of hate crimes and violent extremism.

Fotografías cedidas por Policía Municipal de Madrid

data quality en News Projects

DATA EQUALITY: Toward Equality and Efficiency in Justice and Security

On April 29, within the framework of the DATA EQUALITY project, the Euro-Arab Foundation for Higher Studies conducted a national exercise in Spain aimed at analysing the practical challenges in implementing European judicial cooperation instruments, with a particular focus on data management and transmission. The activity, held online, consisted of an in-depth interview with two expert profiles—one from the prison administration and one from the police force—focusing on the consequences of information fragmentation in transnational contexts.

The exercise explored how the lack of complete and contextualized data impacts the actions of judicial, police, and prison authorities, as well as decision-making and the protection of fundamental rights. Furthermore, this activity is part of the pilot phase of the project’s newly developed methodology, aimed at validating its applicability in real-world settings.

Challenges and Proposals

Key findings included the existence of critical information gaps (such as the absence of complete prison records, risk indicators, or vulnerability data) as well as operational obstacles stemming from poor translations, a lack of legal equivalence, and limited institutional coordination.

The exercise also gathered proposals to improve cooperation mechanisms, including:

Strengthening system interoperability.
Developing standardised protocols for information exchange.
The need for specialised training for the professionals involved.

These results provide relevant empirical evidence for developing more inclusive and effective methodologies for data management within European judicial cooperation.

Through this activity, the Euro-Arab Foundation has helped identify key challenges related to the quality, interoperability, and transmission of data between Member States, highlighting a significant gap between the regulatory design of European instruments and their practical application.