Joint BODEGA-ABC4EU Showcase 2-5 May 2017 in Levi, Finland

The Joint BODEGA-ABC4EU Showcase Event took place on May 2nd - 5th 2017 in Levi, Finland, hosted at the Levi Spa Hotel. The event provided an opportunity to expand the enduser community of the BODEGA and ABC4EU research projects while contributing to the dissemination, discussion and validation of their results. While the aim of BODEGA is to enhance efficiency, security and traveller experience of the border control process taking into account human factors and ethical aspects, ABC4EU1 (Automated Border Control Gates for Europe) aims to harmonise border control technology in accordance with Smart Borders legislation.

The initiative was conceived in response to the European Commission’s call for greater cooperation between EC-funded research projects. A special focus was placed on discussing the preliminary results of the two projects in light of the EU’s changing legislation in the area of border control. The event saw the participation of 43 persons including members of EU and national law-enforcement agencies, representatives of Ministries of Internal Affairs of EUMember States, European universities, lobby groups and NGOs involved in activities related to security, technology and ethics. Chatham house rules were adopted throughout the event in order to stimulate open discussion. An Etherpad solution was also put in place allowing participants to ask questions in real-time and exchange views in an anonymous fashion.

The event was articulated into 7 thematic workshops:

  • Workshop 1 examined lessons learned from previous Automated Border Control facilitation
  • projects;
  • Workshop 2 looked at the role of technology as a European wide solution;
  • Workshop 3 focused on the results of BODEGA field studies and ABC4EU pilot
  • tests;
  • Workshop 4 featured an expert panel discussion around issues related to ethics, responsible research and innovation and border control;
  • Workshop 5 was dedicated to the testing of prototype solutions developed during different projects;
  • Workshop 6 hosted a meeting of the ABC4EU External End User Advisory Board;
  • Workshop 7 consisted of a group discussion around a set of key questions put forward by the European Commission.

For further information, consult the full report