Making major events safer and more enjoyable for the audience, preventing a pleasurable moment from turning into a traumatic experience or, sometimes, into a real nightmare (like the European Cup final in Brussels in 1985) is among the topics on the agenda of the international meeting organized within the framework of the project EU SEC II by the Laboratory of UNICRI Security Governance and Counter Terrorism from November 4th to the 6th.
The project EU SEC phase II started in 2008. It is coordinated by UNICRI (the United Nations Interregional Crime and Justice Research Institute) and funded by the European Commission’s Directorate General for Research, it aims to open new research avenues to facilitate a move towards a European model for the management of major events. Among the objectives of EU SEC II, is the enhancement of cooperation between public and private sectors in the field of security during major events.
Raffaele Aiello, Director of the Public Security Department of the Italian Ministry of Interior, and 35 delegates from 22 European countries (many of whom are from the Ministries of the Interior and the Police forces), will gather to discuss the results obtained and the question of what should be the next steps to take in order to get to the 2011 birth of the European House of Major Events Security.
Since sporting events in general, and football in particular, are of great social importance for the media and the public, the issue is a highly relevant one for public safety and public policy. For this reason the first application of the project, and its first brilliant results, occurred during the most important football event of the year: the final match of the Champions League, which was held in Rome last May.
The meeting will take place at the headquarters of the Fondazione Banca del Monte di Lucca (in Piazza San Martino 4, Lucca). On November 6th, Francesco Cappé, manager of the UNICRI Laboratory, and Raffaele Aiello will close the meeting at 10.30am by presenting the documentary made by United Nations Television at the Champions League final at Rome.
The documentary introduces the various stages of preparation and management of the event showing how the correct methods and the proper coordination of a potentially risky event can be transformed into a great success.