Marina Kazakova
July 2026
Technology, creativity, and collaboration take centre stage at C-mine on 20 November 2026
C-Mine, Genk, Belgium — On 20 November 2026, Tech4Victims will bring together innovators, victim support professionals, law enforcement experts, policymakers, researchers, technology developers, and civil society leaders at C-mine in Genk, a former coal-mining complex reinvented as a creative hub where technology, arts, and innovation converge. The one-day event will explore how emerging solutions can transform victim support and contribute to a safer and healthier world.
In an era where digital technologies are reshaping how people communicate, work, and access services, Tech4Victims asks a fundamental question: how can innovation serve people better?
The event will explore how technology can transform the entire victim journey — from the first moment of reporting and seeking help, through access to support and justice, to long-term recovery and empowerment.
But Tech4Victims starts from a simple premise: innovation is not technology alone. Innovation is better support.
The event will examine how responsible and human-centred approaches to technology can protect rights, strengthen trust, improve accessibility, and deliver better outcomes for victims of crime.
A creative hub where industrial heritage meets future innovation
Located in Genk, in Belgium’s Limburg province, C-mine is a former coal-mining site transformed into one of Belgium’s most distinctive creative and innovation hubs. Once a symbol of industrial production, the site has been reinvented as a place where technology, arts, entrepreneurship, and research come together.
The choice of C-mine as the home of Tech4Victims is deliberate. The location reflects the ambition of the event itself: bringing together different worlds to create new solutions.
Today, C-mine hosts a diverse ecosystem of creative organisations, entrepreneurs, researchers, and students, including the Genk campus of LUCA School of Arts, where future designers, artists, and game developers explore how creativity and technology can respond to complex societal challenges.
The campus is also one of the partners behind a growing collaboration with Victim Support Europe, demonstrating how creative practice and victim support expertise can come together to raise awareness and develop new ways of understanding harm in the digital age.
Through the REPLAY exchange project, LUCA School of Arts students, researchers, and victim support professionals explored how game design can make the experiences of victims more visible and accessible. Using metaphor and interactive storytelling, students created prototypes addressing issues such as online harassment, misogyny in gaming communities, deepfakes, toxic online ecosystems, and the role of digital platforms in amplifying harm.
Several of these projects will be presented at Tech4Victims 2026, showing how emerging creators can contribute to conversations about digital safety, victims’ rights, and the future of support systems.
Three dimensions of innovation
Tech4Victims will explore three interconnected areas where technology can make a meaningful difference:
Technology Empowering Victims: From Reporting to Recovery
From digital reporting tools and accessible information platforms to solutions that improve protection and connection with support services, this track explores how technology can give victims greater access, safety, and empowerment.
Technology Building Awareness and Understanding
Innovation is also about changing how society understands victim experiences. This theme explores new approaches in education, training, communication, and professional development that strengthen awareness of victims’ rights and needs.
Technology Strengthening Victim Support and Justice Systems
Artificial intelligence, digital tools, and emerging technologies are creating new opportunities to improve referral pathways, support services, justice processes, and access to remedies. Tech4Victims will examine how these technologies can be developed and applied responsibly and ethically.
A living laboratory for ideas, challenges, and solutions
Rather than following a traditional conference format, Tech4Victims will operate as a living laboratory for experimentation, participation, and collaboration.
The programme is designed to move beyond passive listening and create meaningful exchanges between those facing challenges and those developing solutions.
Participants will experience innovative formats including:
– Reverse pitches, where institutions and practitioners present real-world challenges before innovators respond with possible solutions.
– Flipped keynotes, turning presentations into conversations and debates.
– Battleground sessions, where technologies are tested through the perspectives of victims’ advocates and experts.
– Audience-driven challenges, giving participants an active role in identifying priorities and shaping solutions.
– Interactive discussions, encouraging spontaneous exchange and diverse perspectives between stakeholders.
The result is an event that does not simply showcase innovation — it embodies it.
First confirmed exhibitors include:
YAZA (Malta)
YAZA provides cloud-based IoT and software solutions for fleet, asset, and workforce management. Its platforms offer real-time insights, customisable dashboards, reporting tools, and data-driven solutions that help organisations improve operational efficiency and decision-making.
Kulpa (United Kingdom)
Kulpa is a secure digital evidence platform that enables individuals, organisations, and public authorities to capture, store, verify, and share legally admissible digital evidence. Through its cloud-based solution, Kulpa supports secure evidence management and helps improve access to reliable digital records.
askblue(Portugal)
askblue is a technology and business consultancy specialising in digital transformation, software development, data and analytics, quality assurance, and tailored IT solutions. The company supports organisations in modernising their processes and leveraging technology to address business challenges.
BPrepared(Belgium)
BPrepared develops integrated emergency management software designed to support major incidents, mass casualty events, and large-scale evacuations. Its solutions improve coordination between emergency responders, hospitals, authorities, and other stakeholders, enabling more efficient crisis response and incident management.
Issured(United Kingdom)
Issured is a digital transformation consultancy providing secure IT solutions, business transformation services, software development, IT service management, and technology consulting. The company helps organisations modernise operations through secure digital solutions and collaborative transformation approaches.
Ilkka Paananen Foundation (Finland)
The Ilkka Paananen Foundation supports initiatives that improve the social and mental well-being of children, young people, and families. The foundation focuses on innovative and scalable solutions that promote inclusion, mental health, equal opportunities, and positive societal impact.
LUCA School of Arts / REPLAY (Belgium)
LUCA School of Arts, through the REPLAY programme, explores how creative game design can be used to address complex social issues, including online harm and victims’ experiences. In collaboration with Victim Support Europe, LUCA students develop innovative game concepts that use metaphors and interactive storytelling to raise awareness, encourage empathy, and make digital challenges more accessible. The initiativedemonstrates how technology, education, and creative practice can come together to support prevention, learning, and social impact.
Additional speakers, exhibitors, and programme highlights will be announced in the coming weeks.
We bring together technology, creativity, and expertise to shape the next generation of victim support — where innovation serves people, collaboration creates lasting partnerships, and digital progress contributes to a safer and healthier world.
Contact:
Marina Kazakova
Victim Support Europe
Associate Communications Manager
m.kazakova@victimsupporteurope.eu
Tel: 0032 (0) 23 46 04 55
