Flemish government presents action plan against rising radicalisation

The Flemish government has on Friday approved an action plan against radicalisation, announced the competent ministers Zuhal Demir and Hilde Crevits. Schools, welfare, justice and security services must be able to work together even more closely to combat this threat.

Staff at community institutions will now receive support from experts in radicalisation, to recognise and follow up on problematic behaviour more quickly. A community institution is a facility for the care of young people who have committed a crime and minors in a problematic educational situation.

Practical modules will be introduced for school management and teachers to teach them how to have difficult conversations about radicalisation. This will also be integrated into teacher training programmes. It should help teachers to deal appropriately with radicalising pupils who have not yet been removed from the classroom.

“We must not be naive, the signs are serious"

Schools will be given a point of contact to which they can turn if they notice signs of radicalisation. The young person concerned will then be followed up by the appropriate services, no longer by the school itself. For the young people themselves, teaching materials will be provided to teach them critical thinking and media literacy. The target group is youngsters between the ages of 12 and 16.

Local authorities will receive additional funding to strengthen the Local Integral Security Cells Radicalism (LIVC-R), to improve the dialogue with the police and social workers, amongst others. To combat extremist organisations, subsidies may be suspended if there are suspicions or signs of extremist involvement. If these suspicions are confirmed, Flemish support will be permanently withdrawn.

Jihadist extremism

This threat has never disappeared and is re-emerging emphatically, especially from jihadist extremism, ministers Demir and Crevits stated. “We must not be naive,” they emphasised.

“The signs are serious. Schools, welfare, justice and security services must be able to work together even more closely. That is why we are stepping up our efforts, with clear agreements, better information sharing and more support for those who are confronted with this reality every day in the field.”

^{#FlandersNewsService | Ministers Hilde Crevits and Zuhal Demir at the Flemish parliament © PHOTO Werner Lerooy / BELGIAN_FREELANCE}