In response to the evolving challenges in community safety and public trust, the TRANSCEND project held a policy makers’ workshop at the headquarters of the Région Sud, Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur, in Marseille. Organised by the European Forum for Urban Security (Efus), the event brought together over 25 local and regional representatives from across Europe to exchange practices and explore how to involve citizens more effectively in preventing and responding to gender-based violence (GBV).
A Truly European Dialogue
The workshop gathered participants from a wide geographical area, reflecting the broad European scope of the TRANSCEND project. Representatives travelled from France, Belgium, the Netherlands, Greece, Portugal, and Spain to join the discussion. Participants included officials from the municipalities of Mechelen, Matosinhos, Kalamaria, The Hague, and several cities in southern France such as Marseille, Cagnes-sur-Mer, Grasse and Martigues. The Région Sud played a central role as both a partner and host. Civil society organisations, including France Victimes, and experts from Catalonia also contributed. The research partner institutions of the TRANSCEND project, such as Trilateral Research, Fraunhofer ISI, the Austrian Red Cross and the Peace Research Institute Oslo shared their expertise, with some joining remotely. This diversity allowed for a rich exchange of perspectives, grounded in different local contexts but unified by a shared goal: ensuring that community safety policies and technologies are inclusive, transparent and citizen-focused.
From Toolbox to Action: Applying TRANSCEND Methods to Gender-Based Violence
In the morning sessions, Efus and Trilateral Research presented the TRANSCEND project, its methodology, and the participatory toolbox (the project handbook), which are designed to support local and regional actors also Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) in involving citizens throughout the design and implementation of safety-related tools, technologies and strategies.
Participants also heard about results from four pilot initiatives, which addressed citizen, especially youth engagement in crime prevention, cybersecurity, border management and disaster preparedness. Drawing from these experiences, the group explored how these methods could be adapted to the complex and urgent issue of gender-based violence.
Local Innovations and Inspiring Practices
The Région Sud presented two tools already in use: Umay, a mobile application offering assistance to women experiencing violence, and Mémo de Vie, a secure digital space that helps survivors gather and store evidence. These tools were shared in the context of the regional Justice-Region Convention 2024–2027, which supports multi-agency responses to GBV.
Co-Creation in Action: World Café Discussions
In the afternoon, participants took part in a World Café session, designed to foster collective thinking on three major themes: how to engage citizens in GBV prevention and response, how to strengthen coordination between local actors (such as municipalities, NGOs, police and schools), and how to identify and overcome the barriers to citizen and institutional participation.
Rotating between tables, participants built on each other’s ideas, producing a dynamic flow of insights, challenges and recommendations that reflected both shared goals and local realities.
Looking Ahead
The Marseille workshop confirmed the importance of cross-border cooperation and peer exchange between local and regional actors. It demonstrated that when citizens, institutions and civil society work together to shape responses to security challenges, policies become more legitimate, more effective and more widely supported.
As a direct outcome of the event, Région Sud representatives expressed interest in launching a yearly meeting series with European cities and partners to continue exchanging insights and innovative practices to better tackle GBV. This follow-up initiative would serve as a space for sustained dialogue and collaboration. Efus is ready to support and coordinate this process, ensuring consistency and strategic alignment with broader European efforts in prevention and citizen participation.
This event forms part of the TRANSCEND project’s broader advocacy efforts to promote participatory approaches in the development of security-related research and practice.
Written by Bamba Niang, Anne Boisseau and Chloe Nourry, European Forum for Urban Security (EFUS)
If you would like to learn more about this work, please feel free to contact us at contact@transcend-project.eu.
