Peter Houlis recently attended a security summit in Ukraine as sole western representative.
Peter, MD of CCTV installers 2020 Vision Systems, was an invited speaker at the inaugural ‘Safe City’ conference in Kiev. It’s part of a drive to attract tourists following the ending of the visa required by European Union visitors. The conference, organised jointly by Ukrainian technology company Inkom Corporation and native magazine F & S Security, attracted 300 attendees from Ukraine’s Police Service, Fire Inspection Department, Ministry of Internal Affairs, Ministry of Emergency Planning, Transport and city officials and the media. The aim was to acquaint officials with the importance of planning and developing a clear strategy to maximise the benefits of urban surveillance systems associated with town and city centres, proven to play a major part in all urban regeneration.
What they say
Peter sits on the Board of Security systems and Alarms Inspection (SSAIB) and is their representative on the British Standards Institute Technical Committee, responsible for writing CCTV standards for Europe. He said: “I am delighted to have been invited to such an important and interesting event and I am honoured to be the only westerner to be asked to participate … Although we appreciate the differing political structure, history, laws and lifestyles of the two countries, we are confident that the valuable lessons we have learnt through our experiences within the UK market will help prepare the Ukraine for any ramifications raised by the introduction of public space CCTV.” Alexander Kolpakov, director at Inkom Corporation said: “We are pleased that Peter Houlis agreed to attend and share with us his knowledge and experiences of CCTV projects. We have always been impressed with British methodology towards safety and security. His input at the conference will help us avoid some easy mistakes and learn lessons from the UK.”
About installer
North Shields-based 2020 Vision reports that it has been working with Ukrainian partners since 2003 and began to work closely with technology company UKR Invest Consult in 2005. They are now the main advisors on its ‘Safe City’Kiev project and Peter has been asked to take part in the project’s implementation task force. It’s the only company in the UK that has achieved Level 4 status with the Maxpro Video Management System from Honeywell.
