Countering radicalisation by building trust with vulnerable communities

Research has shown that building trust with vulnerable communities is a key component to countering radicalisation. As part of our Counter Radicalisation Briefing Series, EFD led a closed door meeting for EU and other officials to compare best practices to build these critical relationships in Europe and the US. The discussion, moderated by EFD Senior Fellow Lorenzo Vidino, included the following senior policymakers and thought leaders: 

• Marie-Ange Balbinot, Head of Sector dealing with Radicalisation in the European Commission's Home Affairs Directorate-General (Belgium)
  
• Nasser Weddady, Outreach Director at the American Islamic Congress (US)
• Kelly Simcock, Co-Chair of the European Commission's Radicalisation Awareness Network (RAN) PREVENT working group (UK)
  
• Jean-Pierre Devos, Co-Chair of the European Commission's Radicalisation Awareness Network (RAN) Police and Law Enforcement working group. 
• Frederique Windhorst, Unit for Diversity at the City Government of Amsterdam (Netherlands)
  

Many of the participants were involved in developing the European Commission's recent Communication on the EU response to radicalisation and violent extremism. Published on 15th January 2014, the Communication outlines the evolving trends, means and patterns that can lead to radicalisation. 

The discussion explored ways to improve EU policy by sharing lessons learned from grassroots initiatives in the United States, the Netherlands and the UK. The meeting took place on 11th February 2014.