On June 6th, the Young Professionals in Foreign Policy organized a conference-debate on “Terrorism & Radicalisation Series: Understanding radicalisation in Belgium. Why here and what now?” with speakers :
Bart Somers, Mayor of Mechelen, Member of the Flemish Parliament, Vice President of ALDE at the Committee of Regions (CoR) and Rapporteur on Combating radicalisation and violent extremism at the CoR
Maurice Van der Velden, European Commission Radicalisation Awareness Network.
Corinne Torrekens, Researcher ULB
the conference-debate :
On March 22nd, Belgium was hit by unprecedented and deadly terrorist attacks. The ongoing investigations into the Paris and Brussels terror attacks reveal the extent to which radical cells have gained influence, capacity, support and resilience in Brussels and the region. Moreover, Belgium has the highest rate of young people travelling to Syria per capita in all of Europe, raising concerns over the intention of those returning and the further risks they might pose. How can we begin to understand radicalisation processes in Belgium? What are the personal, socio-economic, religious processes at the heart of the phenomenon? What measures are used to address this situation? How can we be prepared for this security challenge, particularly in urban areas?