Brussels, Royal Library of Belgium
Tuesday 13 June 2023 | 11:00 – 18:00 CET
Currently, there are over 37,000 foreign nationals in the Al-Hol and Roj camps in Syria. Over half of the population in these camps are children, living in alarming conditions, lacking basic needs, and exposed to violence and exploitation. Increasing efforts are being made to repatriate children from former ISIS-held territories to their home countries in Europe. Simultaneously, practitioners in Europe increasingly encounter children raised in families with links to violent extremism, including children from Right-wing extremist families. Front-line practitioners have expressed the need to better understand the experiences and lived realities of children raised in families with exposure to violent extremism to better identify their needs.
The EC-funded PREPARE Project contributes to a better understanding of how family involvement in violent extremism impacts the lives of children. In turn, PREPARE identifies approaches to support their development and well-being.
Based on the extensive empirical evidence base gathered throughout the last 18 months, the project’s final event will discuss the following questions:
Over this 1-day conference, the PREPARE team will be joined by experts and practitioners to present and discuss the current practices and approaches to working with children from violent extremist families in Europe. This will include a keynote speaker and expert panel discussion, and an opportunity to come review the projects outputs.
Discover PREPARE’s targeted support for practitioners who are working with these children in our live demonstration sessions, including:
- Our Train-the-Trainer programme developed to increase practitioners’ knowledge and to offer practical tips when engaging with children from families with violent extremist links.
- Our Child Vulnerability and Intervention proof-of-concept Tool aimed at guiding practitioners to select appropriate interventions to support these children.
Conference attendance is free of charge.
Registration is open until the 1 June 2023, however spaces are limited.
Morning sessions (11:30 – 13:30) will also be live-streamed online.
Preliminary agenda
11:00 – 11:30
Registration and coffee
11:30 – 11:40
11.40 – 12:00
Keynote speech – Joshua Baker
Joshua Baker is an award-winning journalist and documentary maker. He is the creator and host of the BBC’s most listened to podcast series “I’M NOT A MONSTER”, which follows an American family who travelled to Syria to join ISIS. More recently, Josh’s work has focused on the Shamima Begum story, which created international headlines as it unpacked one of the most contentious stories of our time.
12:00 – 13:00
Panel discussion
Topics of discussion:
- Challenges faced by children from families affiliated with VE in Europe
- Far-Right/Jihadist considerations and gaps in European country contexts
13:00 – 13:30
13:30 – 14:30
Lunch
14:30 – 16:00
Intro to demo sessions
Demo sessions
- Child Vulnerability and Intervention Tool
- Train-the-Trainer Programme
- Insights from literature and research on children from violent extremist families
Poster demonstration – key findings from other EU funded projects in the field
16:00 – 16:20
Final conclusions
16:20 – 16:30
Closing remarks
16:30 – 18:00
Networking reception
