The mayor of Rotterdam Ahmed Aboutaleb spoke at the opening of the Summit of Mayors for the Alliance of European Cities which brought together nearly 130 participants in Rotterdam on 9 November 2016. Stressing the importance of grassroots dialogue between local and regional elected representatives and the public at large, Mr Aboutaleb went on to say: “Many countries see radicalisation leading to violent extremism as the result of social and integration problems. Yet we are seeing people heading off to join the jihadists in Iraq or Syria for other reasons, even when they are totally integrated”. “In Rotterdam, we have decided to engage our fellow citizens in a proper conversation through a special programme. This conversation takes place at regular meetings in the local area or at our own offices, over a coffee,” explained the mayor, adding that the results were encouraging and that the scheme was helping to foster mutual understanding and to prevent violent extremism at grassroots level. During the Summit of Mayors, a number of field visits will give participants an opportunity to discover specific local initiatives being conducted in Rotterdam to address this challenge. 

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