SPIRIT aims to enhance the preparedness and response capabilities of places of worship (PoW) and religious mass gatherings in a cross-functional and multilevel setting by presenting the relevant stakeholders with modern tools and security concepts in a holistic, yet cohesive approach. Thus, the REAACT conceptual platform, developed to facilitate the objectives of the SPIRIT project, brings together Reporting (tools for early warning and enhanced situational awareness), Engagement (interreligious local security committees and citizens’ communities engagement), Assessment/Action (threat taxonomies, enhanced vulnerability assessments, impact simulation, security-by-design protection measures evaluation) Communication (awareness raising campaign and dissemination emissaries designed to engage key audience and support DG Home’s communication initiatives) and Training (i.e. a three-fold training programme designed to enhance familiarity with technological tools, legal and ethical considerations in security and the alignment of tactical responses).

The penultimate outcome is to create a toolbox of activities and best practices for the enhancement of the security of places of worship. The project consortium is comprised of a group of beneficiaries from 8 EU including Christian, Muslim and Jewish faith institutions, LEAs, technology providers and security consultancies, which within the micro scale of the
project, offer not only the necessary horizontal coverage of all the aspects of the project, but also the vertical depth and complementarity each individual beneficiary brings along in terms of experience to ensure the smooth project implementation and the establishment of a collaborative and mutually enriching structure that will help harvest new communication channels and the sharing of information, knowledge and best practices.

At a medium scale, SPIRIT will  benefit LEAS’s, religious communities and individual religious sites’ operators by improving their prevention/response
effectiveness in a resource efficient and cost-effective manner. At a macro scale, the synergistic framework of SPIRIT will lead to the harmonization of today’s multi-faceted and complex mosaic of national and regional security approaches and will set the basis for the implementation of a European Standard in the field of PoW protection