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News VANGUARD VANGUARD

Karen Latricia Hough, VANGUARD project’s researcher, contribute to the volumen ‘Learning from Failures in Human Trafficking’

Hough co-authors chapter 9 ‘Re-positioning the Role of Information and Communication Technologies and Artificial Intelligence in the Fight against Human Trafficking’

Karen Latricia Hough, senior researcher at the Euro-Arab Foundation for Higher Studies currently developing VANGUARD project, has analyzed the importance of information and technological advances—such as artificial intelligence—alongside fellow researchers Theodora Tsikrika, Despoina Chatzakou, Theoni Spathi, and Tatiana Duarte Nicolau.

The article co-authored by Hough, Tsikrika, Chatzakou, Spathi, and Duarte Nicolau constitutes Part III of a publication supervised by Silvia Rodríguez-López, a senior researcher in criminal law at the University of A Coruña, and Amy Weatherburn, an FWO Senior Postdoctoral Fellow at the KU Leuven Institute for European Law, specializing in human trafficking, forced labor, migration, and fundamental rights law.

A collection published by the prestigious Routledge, structured around three core pillars

This monograph lays the groundwork for a paradigm shift in the anti-human trafficking literature, identifying where current approaches fall short and how these shortcomings might be addressed. Its approach is accessible and multidisciplinary, bringing together academics and legal practitioners to identify critical gaps in global response systems.

The volume is structured around three foundational pillars. The first part challenges outdated definitions of exploitation, particularly with regard to the criminal exploitation of minors, sex work, and labour trafficking. The second evaluates operational failures in victim identification and protection, drawing on recent, real-world case studies from across different continents, including cross-border drug smuggling in Chile, cyber-scam compounds in Southeast Asia, and the high-profile case of Dominic Ongwen at the International Criminal Court. Finally, the monograph turns to structural failures, highlighting the role of artificial intelligence in the fight against human trafficking, as well as the importance of integrating survivor testimony and lived experience into research, legislative, and policy-making processes.

The ultimate aim is to analyse why past measures have failed and to provide actionable, evidence-based, survivor-centred solutions to redefine future legislation, policy, and practice worldwide.

VOLUME AVAILABLE ONLINE
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News victory

Third VicTory Project Training Course on Restorative Justice, Reparation and Resolution

Researcher Rascha Albaba Acosta, from the Fundación Euroárabe, took part, from 15 to 17 June, in the third and final in-person training of the VicTory project, held in Helsinki.

The event brought to a close the approach developed at the first in-person training, held from 10 to 12 February, with Fundación Euroárabe leading the facilitation together with Ararteko (the Basque Ombudsman’s Office), as well as its continuation from 21 to 23 April, hosted by the Hungarian Helsinki Committee — part of a series of workshops delivered in hybrid format, both online and in person.

A victim-centred programme to prevent revictimisation

The workshop opened with remarks from Margarida Damas of IPS – Innovative Prison Systems, followed by an introduction from Miriam Attias (MAP Finland), Roberto Moreno and Nahikari Borda (Ararteko). Over the course of three days, participants explored approaches to responding to hate incidents, conducting individual interviews through vulnerable listening, and facilitating the collective contribution to the community of testimonies from victims of political violence, through symbolic reparation, memory and transitional justice.

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News VANGUARD VANGUARD

Red Flags: a serious game against child trafficking developed by VANGUARD

Accessible online for all audiences

The VANGUARD project, focused on developing technological solutions against human trafficking, has launched the game ‘Red Flags’, whose development involved the Euro-Arab Foundation in the design and oversight of the content script, a key piece given that it is an interactive, role-based game built around a series of dialogue sequences.

VANGUARD is a highly innovative, interdisciplinary project running over three years, involving a total of twenty-two partners from twelve countries, and backed by €4.5 million in funding. Part of this budget has been allocated to ‘Red Flags’, a serious game that adopts an engaging format prioritizing broad, straightforward accessibility aimed at social and educational professionals as well as parents and adolescents.

The goal is to educate people about one of the most common strategies used to recruit victims: the ‘loverboy’ method and the ‘love bombing’ tactic, which use supposed romantic relationships to attract, persuade, and ultimately subdue those who end up in a situation of risk until they are sexually exploited.

A campaign against the recruitment of minors through social media

The ‘Red Flags’ campaign has been designed for social media with one of the groups at highest risk of being recruited online in mind: adolescents and minors. Using accessible language, an informal style, and a series of short videos shared on the channels that are part of this population segment’s everyday life, ‘Red Flags’ is being introduced to young people in Spanish, English, German, Italian, Portuguese, and Greek.

LEARN. DETECT. PROTECT.

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News Projects VIRTUOUS en

VIRTUOUS launches #PlacesOfWorship micro-learning material for religious communities campaign

The VIRTUOUS project, an EU-funded initiative bringing together 21 partners from 11 countries, has launched #PlacesOfWorshipForAll, a communication campaign developed under the lead of Euro-Arab Foundation for Higher Studies as launched #PlacesOfWorshipForAll, a communication campaign developed within the VIRTUOUS project, an EU-funded initiative bringing together 21 partners from 11 countries.

The campaign combines multidisciplinary expertise, interreligious perspectives, the operational experience of Law Enforcement Agencies, including the Police of Madrid, Murcia and Cyprus, and technological innovations in architectural security developed by Yuppies.

#PlacesOfWorshipForAll brings together 15 stakeholder perspectives in a shared commitment to enhancing the safety and peace of mind of all people of faith through interreligious solidarity and multi-agency collaboration.

The campaign features voices from three religious traditions: Islam, Judaism and Christianity (the latter including Evangelical Christianity, Greek Orthodoxy and Catholicism). The religious communities were represented by Massimo Abdellah Cozzolino, Dr Umar Al-Qadri, Rav Scialom Bahbout, Mr Lazaros Sefiha, Mr Rinalds Grants, Fr Christos A. Mitsiou, Fr Stanisław Stelmaszek and Fr Krzysztof Deja. Drawing on their experience as religious leaders and trusted community representatives, the campaign identifies key security challenges faced by places of worship and provides practical guidance to help religious communities strengthen preparedness and resilience.

Beyond prevention, #PlacesOfWorshipForAll also addresses the aftermath of security incidents, highlighting the importance of preserving the openness, accessibility and welcoming nature of places of worship while strengthening protective measures.

The videos are available for public through VIRTUOUS official social media profiles under the name Virtuous project in Facebook, LinkedIn and Instagram.

A campaign guided by security, data protection and ethics

Given the sensitive nature of the subject, the campaign has been developed following strict security, legal and ethical standards.

Within the VIRTUOUS consortium, QUINTUM SCUTUM, the organisation responsible for analysing attack methodologies, has ensured that the materials provide practical and relevant knowledge without compromising the safety of religious communities. At the same time, TECOMS has overseen compliance with data protection requirements and ethical principles throughout the development of the campaign.