CBSS Project Support Facility awards funding to Safety and Security projects in the Baltic Sea Region

Lead partner: Norway (End Child Prostitution and Trafficking (ECPAT) Norway, Invisible Children Forum) in partnership with Latvia, Sweden and Russia

This innovative project aims to identify and empower childhood survivors of human trafficking in the Baltic Sea States. By establishing a regional forum and a digital platform where survivors can be informed, express their opinions, get support from peers and be heard in relevant decision making.

By breaking the silence, speaking out, and receiving support from others in the same situation survivors are empowered to strengthen social reintegration and to regain control of their own lives. Survivors are better heard in decision-making that concern their rights and contribute to the prevention of and response to human trafficking in the Baltic Sea region and at national level.

Through mapping relevant groups and organizations in the region, sharing knowledge and information, workshops, cultural activities to empower survivors of childhood human trafficking, policy dialogue/advocacy and networking the project will benefit from the views and experiences from survivors of human trafficking in childhood, including the mechanisms and causes behind human trafficking and how this serious human rights violation can be prevented, and how victims and survivors can be identified and support each other’s healing and social reintegration.

Project Partners:

Norway: ECPAT Norway/Invisible Children Forum

Latvia: Association Centre

Sweden: Swedish platform Civil Society against Human Trafficking

Russia: NGO Stellit, charity fund

Lead partner: Latvia (Liepaja Municipal Police) in partnership with Finland and Lithuania

In an attempt to discover young people’s in the Baltic Sea Region safety concerns and the best way to reach young people, a research will be developed in collaboration with safety experts and youth representatives from Latvia, Finland and Lithuania.

The research will help prepare for a larger scale project in which youth in the Baltic Sea region will be educated about how to increase their safety in physical and virtual world, especially in the fields where they feel less secure. Special attention will be paid to the collaboration between safety experts and young people to demonstrate the value of such cooperation.

The results of the research will be publicly available and will be shared through various networks such as the network of Union of the Baltic Cities.

Project Partners:

Latvia: Liepaja Municipal Police

Finland: Southwest Finland Emergency Services

Finland: Espoo Youth Services

Lithuania: Kaunas City Municipality

Lead partner: Latvia (Ministry of the Interior of the Republic of Latvia) in partnership with Estonia, Finland and Denmark

The project addresses human trafficking (THB) for labour exploitation in all CBSS Member States. The main objective of the project is to support stakeholders in combating and disrupting human trafficking for labour exploitation by analysing and consolidating information, improving assistance to victims and stepping up prosecution of traffickers.

The project will involve a baseline research component on trafficking for labour exploitation in Denmark, Germany, Latvia, Poland and Norway; three transnational experts’ workshops in Norway, Finland and Germany with professionals and practitioners from all CBSS member states; a high-level conference to present the project outcomes and required actions in the CBSS Member States.

Vilnius declaration on combating trafficking for labour exploitation will be developed based on the findings of the research reports and transnational workshops and adopted by the CBSS Member States.

Project Parnters:

Latvia: Ministry of the Interior of the Republic of Latvia

Norway: Ministry of Justice an Public Security

Finland: Joutseno Reception Centre

Germany: Federal Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs

Lithuania: Ministry of the Interior

Denmark: Ministry of Foreign Affairs

Poland: Ministry of the Interior and Administration

Lead partner: Russia (Regional Public Organization of Social Projects in Sphere of Population’s Well-Being “Stellit”) in partnership with Finland and Latvia

The project’s aim is to provide child protection specialists with relevant information and strategies regarding the prevention of child trafficking and sexual exploitation regarding ICT. The synergy of the combined expertise will contribute to advancing the child protection system and the safety of children in the Baltic Sea Region.

The project will include a desktop study on identifying best practices in prevention of recruiting children for sexual exploitation and human trafficking with the use of ICT – which will be disseminated among stakeholders – development of a training module and two-day trainings for stakeholders in Russia, Latvia, and Finland.

Project Partners:

Latvia: Shelter “Safe House”

Lead partner: Sweden (Swedish Defence University) in partnership with Finland and Norway

The initiative promotes a more institutionalized cooperation between the variety of Baltic Sea Region end-users and stakeholder organizations, including societal security research institutions, sub-regional, national and local authorities as well as civil society organizations.

The project will map out the key organizations that should participate in the focus group activities and the first workshop and intends to develop a structure for a longer-term strategic biennial practice (a workshop every even year) by drawing upon the momentum generated by the biennial Baltic Leadership Programme that occurs every odd year.

Project Partners

Finland: Arctic Centre