In the media
October 30, 2015
On 27-28 October 2015, ICCT Director Mark Singleton attended the “Madrid + 10: Preventing and Countering Violent Extremism Conference”, organised by the Club de Madrid, in Madrid, Spain. The Club de Madrid’s 2005 Madrid Agenda was among the first documents that helped change the global consensus away from fighting terrorism by purely military means towards using all the levers of national and international stakeholders to tackle deep-rooted grievances, countering extremist ideas, as well as strengthening and empowering communities. Now, 10 years later, the Club de Madrid reconvened to address the rise in radicalisation and violent extremism and reinforce the need for a comprehensive, Rule of Law based approach to prevent and counter radicalization and violent extremism, increase public engagement and promote grassroots initiatives. The conference resulted in the announcement of the Global Consensus document. The event drew a large audience of former democratically elected presidents and prime ministers, and the active participation of King Felipe of Spain, acting Foreign Ministers, dignitaries and experts. The conference ended with a keynote speech by UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon.
