Foreign Minister Zaharieva: Education as a Tool against Radicalisation

Prevention of extremism and radicalisation leading to terrorism - this was the central topic of the meeting of the foreign ministers of the member states of the The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe on 11 July. At the forum in the Austrian town of Maurerbach, Bulgarian Deputy Prime Minister for Judicial Reform and Foreign Minister, Ekaterina Zaharieva, emphasized education in tolerance as one of the most important steps to combat radicalization among young people.

The fight against the radicalisation of young people was mentioned in the forum as one of the core missions of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE). Bulgaria is an active participant in this mission, Ekaterina Zaharieva said. She stressed that formal and non-formal education in the Western Balkan region should be used effectively to promote tolerance and pluralism from the earliest childhood.

There should be a different approach to men, women and children in the fight against radicalisation, Zaharieva said. "Women have a particularly important role to play in preventing and combating extremism growing into terrorism. And engaging them in education and working with local communities is an important step," she said. Otherwise, women may be a strong weapon in the hands of terrorists, Zaharieva added.