The VANGUARD project, represented by its coordinator (M4D – Multimodal Data Fusion and Analytics Group at CERTH-ITI), successfully participated as a co-organising project at the two-days RISE-SD 2024 (Research and Innovation Symposium for European Security and Defence 2024) event that took place in Chalkidiki, Greece on October 16-17, 2024. The event brought together the European R&D communities in Civil Security to raise awareness on the achievements of European Security Research, promote debate, and showcase the results of European R&D security projects. Participants of various backgrounds attended the two-days RISE-SD conference, with the VANGUARD project attracting attention and gathering positive feedback, thus providing opportunities for networking and future synergies. In particular, Dr Despoina Chatzakou, representing VANGUARD’s coordinating team, provided a comprehensive overview of VANGUARD’s aims and objectives, its impact, and the expected outcomes, outlining at the same time the current landscape in Trafficking in Human Beings (THB). The main findings related to the THB landscape scanning, along with the initial outcomes of the empirical research have been highlighted, while emphasis was given on the AI-based technological solutions that VANGUARD aims to develop during its lifespan. A short Q&A session followed, allowing the audience to engage with the speaker and learn more about the project.
