VANGUARD
VANGUARD aims to strengthen the fight against trafficking in human beings (THB) by working at the nexus of advanced technological solutions, understanding, awareness raising, and training to disrupt the trafficking chain at an early stage and address the culture of impunity. In particular, VANGUARD will provide an improved intelligence picture of THB, with a particular focus on THB for purposes of sexual exploitation, labour exploitation, and forced criminality. This will be achieved through developing a modular and trustworthy suite of tools for detecting, identifying, investigating, and preventing online-facilitated THB activities and THB-related activities at (border) checkpoints based on the analysis of online multimedia content and multimodal streams, by leveraging the latest advancements in AI.
CENTRIC will support VANGUARD's efforts to address the societal dimensions of THB through improved understanding and engagement with relevant actors, improved strategies of international cooperation, increased awareness, and better evidence-based policymaking. We will also deliver extensive serious games and training to better equip law enforcement and border guards to recognise and tackle THB.
Funding Statement
Co-funded by the European Union
CENTRIC’s work is funded by UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) under the UK government’s Horizon Europe funding guarantee [grant number 10078214]