INVERT Disrupt to Protect Conference – Victim Support Europe

About Invert

The INVERT project aims to combat the use of legal companies by labour traffickers who exploit victims by assisting EU prosecutor offices, law enforcement agencies (LEAs), and judicial authorities in identifying and disrupting these business models and the trafficking chain. The project will develop a fully functional and user-friendly prototype suite of risk assessment tools for prosecutor offices and LEAs officials to smoothen and improve their day-to-day activities and investigations related to labour trafficking, with special attention to child victims. For more information, visit the project’s dedicated website:

INVERT Project

Victims Support Europe and partners are proud to invite you to the final INVERT validation conference – ‘DISRUPT TO PROTECT: FIGTHING LABOUR EXLOITATION THROUGH INNOVATION’, taking place on the 19th of September 2025. The conference will gather EU law enforcement, prosecutors, policymakers, academics, NGOSs, private stakeholders and other criminal justice experts interested in innovative tools piloted under the INVERT project to disrupt criminal networks involved in human trafficking for the purposes of labour exploitation.

The conference will:

Highlight experiences of victims of labour exploitation through case studies from Italy and Hungary
Discuss the aims of the INVERT project and the two innovative tools developed to tackle human trafficking for labour exploitation
Present the results from the piloting of the tools by LEAs in general and specific environments
Reflect on the challenges and lessons learnt by a panel of experts and interactive engagement with the audience on future implementation

Practical Information

WHEN: September 19th, 2025 at 8:45 – 13:00

WHERE: Online or in person

Permanent Representation of Malta to the EU

Rue Archimède 25, 1000 Brussels

Please note that due to limited capacity of the venue, in-person attendance is allocated on a first-come, first-served basis. If you wish to inquire about remaining seats for in-person attendance in Brussels, please contact Victim Support Europe. Once capacity is reached for in-person attendance, remaining registrants will be offered online participation.

The registration period has now closed.

Online Registration

In Person Registration

Programme

AGENDA
FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 19th, 2025
Time	Topics
08:45 – 09:15	Registration & Morning Coffee
09:15 – 09:35	General welcome and introductory speeches Project partners welcome all participants, provide an overview of the event, and introduce the programme with four opening speeches from experts in the field. Levent Altan, Victim Support Europe (VSE) Dr. Francesco Calderoni, Transcrime – Catholic University Milan Dr. Andrea Tünde Barabás, National Insititute of Criminology, Hungary (OKRI)
09:35 – 10:10	Keynote speeches Keynote speakers address the issue of human trafficking for the purposes of labour exploitation from the point of their expertise. Dr. Aitana Radu, University of Malta: Hidden in Plain Sight: Tackling Labour Exploitation Across Europe Dr. Jorn van Rij, Dutch National Police: The Way We Think and Act Fighting Human Trafficking
10:10 – 10:20	Engagement exercise I
10:20 – 10:45	Project presentation & indicators (Transcrime) Presentation of the INVERT project, its objectives, and development of indicators.
10:45 – 11:00	Engagement exercise II
11:00 – 11:25	Live demo session of a case study (Transcrime) Demonstration of the INVERT tool applied to a real case study.
11:25 – 11:35	Engagement exercise III
11:35 – 11:55	Coffee break
11:55 – 12:15	Validation reports presentation (VSE) VSE presents the validation reports on the piloting of the INVERT tools, based on contributions from project partners.
12:15 – 12:30	Q&A with Dr. Szandra Windt (OKRI) Moderated discussion with project partner and senior researcher Dr. Szandra Windt from OKRI, reflecting on piloting and project outcomes.
12:30 – 13:00	Closing remarks & networking Summary of the day, highlighting collective contributions of all partners. Closing of the conference. Complimentary refreshments will be available for attendees staying for the networking portion of the conference.