The ATHENA project brings together major user communities with world leading experts in crisis management and experts and technology developers of mobile and social media use and development. The goal of the ATHENA project is to deliver two major outputs that will enable and encourage users of new media to contribute to the security of citizens in crisis situations and for search and rescue actions:• First, a set of best practice guidelines for LEAs, police, first responders and citizens for the use of new media, supporting tools and technologies in crisis situations• Second, a suite of prototype software tools to enhance the ability of LEAs, police, first responders and citizens in their use of mobile and smart devices in crisis situationsThis project will explore how the huge popularity of new communication media, particularly web-based social media such as Twitter and Facebook, and the prolific use of high-tech mobile devices, can be harnessed to provide efficient and effective communication and enhanced situational awareness during a crisis.The ATHENA system is a crisis communication and management system that encourages and enables the public to participate, in an ethical way, in the process of emergency communication to contribute to the security of the citizen in crisis situations and for search and rescue actions. ATHENA makes use of new social media and high tech mobile devices to efficiently and effectively acquire, analyse and disseminate crisis information and intelligence that is appropriate and useful to LEAs/police/first responders and the public.