DRIVE Project Final Conference

KCSS Representatives have taken part in the final conference of the DRIVE Project (Disengaging and Rehabilitating Islamist Violent Extremists), in Brussels. DRIVE is a European funded project that aimed at mitigating threats related to foreign fighters and Islamist extremists through the improvement of effective Disengagement, Rehabilitation & Reintegration (DRR) practices based on human-centred treatment and the involvement of local communities and public actors. For this purpose, DRIVE project worked to identify and diffuse best practices and policies with regard to DRR programs particularly in Western Balkans countries and strengthening these practices through the development of specific training modules and targeted dissemination campaigns.

The final conference of the project aimed to present the project findings on the state of policies and conditions in the Western Balkans and the three EU states involved in the project to European institutions and other interested parties.

The conference included three panel discussions. The first panel discussed the topic "Foreign Terrorist Fighters - Who and What?" by Dr. Thomas Renard (ICCT) and Dea Fetiu (QKSS). The second panel elaborated on the topic "Management of Security of Foreign Terrorist Fighters" by Nico Braspenning (FOD Justitie), Reka Varga (Egmont Institute), and Afrodita Musliu (Nexus). The final panel discussed the policies of the Netherlands, Kosovo, and Bosnia and Herzegovina on "Rehabilitation and Reintegration into the Community for Foreign Terrorist Fighters" by panelists Shpat Balaj (QKSS), Fenna Canters (Radar Advies), and Benjamin Plevljak (CSS).

The research and training conducted throughout the DRIVE project can be found on the website: https://drive-ontherightpath.eu/the-project/