Conference: Countering Violent Extremism and Radicalization that Lead to Terrorism

Andreja Bogdanovski participated on a two-day conference (25, 26 June) on Countering Violent Extremism and Radicalization that Lead to Terrorism, organised by the OSCE and the Macedonian Ministry of Interior. He addressed the audience by highlighting the main trends with the foreign fighters in Syria and more importantly the challenges that our societies face upon their return. He highlighted that the efforts of the authorities in the Western Balkans are focused primarily on legislative changes which criminalise participation in the conflict in Syria as well as arrests related to recruitment of fighters. Very little however can be seen when it comes to preventive measures as well as reintegration programmes, something which is needed in order to have a holistic approach to this question. He mentioned the examples of the German Counterintelligence service (BfV) and its dropout programmes, the public awareness campaign of EXIT (German CSO), role of Muslim women's organisations in the UK etc.