Promote knowledge management, capacity development and transfer

The II Week of Citizen Security was held in Panama in January 2024 and brought together authorities, experts, and academics from the region.

The Project promoted gathering evidence, analysing policy, and sharing experiences and knowledge, both between and within countries, through the DatAction community of practice. The Project also deployed a series of strategies to build capacities in government institutions and civil society organizations through the TrainAction learning community and the Citizen Security Knowledge Network (CONOSE). The following is a description of the main achievements of each of these strategies:

DatAction
InfoSegura created the DatAction community of practice to provide a space for specialists and decision-makers to discuss, share knowledge and experiences and strengthen their capacities for analysis and management in citizen security. DatAction encompasses the following:

- DatAction–Webinar. An established regular virtual or hybrid (in person/online) venue, promoting knowledge exchange/discussions and analysis of the state of citizen security, justice, and social cohesion in the region and in project implementing countries, with an emphasis on innovative solutions. See YouTube channel.

Since DatAction was launched in 2020, the Project has produced six seasons of the webinar, for a total of 63 episodes. It hosted 2,500 participants, representing 110 institutions from 36 Latin American, Caribbean, and European countries. Over 100 knowledge products and presentations were shared by more than 68 specialists, 66 per cent of them women.

- DatAction–Exchanges. This is an online or o ine hub for bilateral exchange of experiences and to enhance knowledge transfer among countries.

- DatAction-Exchanges hosted eight bilateral meetings, where project-participating countries got to share/transfer knowledge and data analysis covering matters like road tra c fatalities and traffic accidents, surveys of violence against women and girls, digitalization of judicial case files, missing persons, community mediation, monitoring and early warning of conflict, data interoperability and tools for use in the analysis of security policies. In all, there were 21 sessions. Of these, 14 were online and seven in person. In addition, a Convention of Mediators was held in El Salvador. The idea emerged in a Project-hosted exchange between the National Directorate for Alternative Dispute Resolution (DINARAC) of the Ministry of Justice and Peace of Costa Rica and the O ce of the Prosecutor General of the Republic (PGR) of El Salvador.

- DatAction–Forum. This national and international in-person meeting and discussion forum is for sharing experiences, achievements, and innovative solutions to strengthen citizen security, justice, and social cohesion.

DatAction–Forum promoted high level discussions to share experiences and best practices for citizen security. The Project organized the International Forum on Innovative Solutions to Strengthen Citizen Security and Access to Justice in Central America and the Dominican Republic. There were 80 attendees from nine countries, 23 specialists from Belize, Brazil, Colombia, El Salvador, Granada, Guatemala, Honduras, Jamaica, and Mexico, as well as representatives of USAID and UNDP.

Citizen Security Week
Organized for analysing the complexities of current contexts, recognizing the progress made and identifying the emerging challenges in the array of factors involved in security and violence. Two editions (2022 and 2024) of the Citizen Security Week in Central America and the Dominican Republic were held and have become a benchmark as a space for high-level dialogue on public policies for citizen security.

Citizen Security Week provided opportunities to share experiences, initiatives, and technological innovation, and discuss developments and challenges in strengthening the capacities States need to create evidence-based and people-centred policies for citizen security. To address the current political and institutional contexts in the region.

At the event, participants included ministers and vice ministers, former presidents/vice presidents from Central America and the Dominican Republic, as well as their technical teams, academicians, and international subject-matter experts from across Latin America, the Caribbean, and the United States. In numbers:

              - 17 ministers and vice ministers

              - 62 international speakers

              - More tan 220 attendees from 26 countries