UC hosts EU Security Union Commissioner to speak on hate crime, terrorism

The European Union’s Commissioner for the Security Union, Sir Julian Beresford King KCVO CMG will present the annual National Centre for Research on Europe’s (NCRE) prestigious Europa Lecture at the University of Canterbury on Thursday 27 June. He will be speaking about ‘The Christchurch Call – bringing the conversation home’, along with New Zealand MPs Golriz Ghahraman and Gerry Brownlee.

Following the devastating 15 March mosque attacks in Christchurch, New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and French President Emmanuel Macron met, alongside other world and tech leaders, to adopt the ‘Christchurch Call’. The Christchurch Call aims to combat online terrorism and violent extremism. The European Commission was a major supporter of the Call, alongside eight EU member states.

The New Zealand Government has invited Sir Julian to the country as part of growing security connections following the Christchurch terrorist attacks. He will cover topics such as hate crime, cyberterrorism and radicalisation.

“The visit of Commissioner Sir Julian King builds on the 2016 NZ-EU Political Agreement and comes at a time of deepening relations as reflected in the current negotiations towards a Free Trade Agreement,” says Professor Martin Holland, Director of the NCRE at UC.

New Zealand Parliamentarian Ms Ghahraman will be accompanying Sir Julian and participating from a local perspective. An Iranian-Kiwi refugee and current Green Minister for Parliament who has been subjected to online hate crimes, Ms Ghahraman will talk about her own experience and how best to respond to terrorism. Former New Zealand Foreign Minister and current MP for Christchurch’s Ilam constituency, Mr Brownlee will discuss what the Christchurch Call means to Christchurch.

The annual Europa Lecture series has been running for 18 years and brings together practitioners and academics in a dialogue that addresses the EU’s involvement with its global partners. Past topics have included the EU’s foreign policy, past and present enlargements of the Union and the contentious issue of agriculture.

• The European Union Centres Network (EUCN), in association with the New Zealand Institute of International Affairs (NZIIA) and the National Centre for Research on Europe (NCRE) at the University of Canterbury present the EUCN-NZIIA Europa Lecture 2019: The Christchurch Call - bringing the conversation home, 5pm, Thursday 27 June, Te Moana nui a Kiwa, in the Rehua building, University of Canterbury’s Ilam campus. Talk begins at 5pm followed by a reception. This is an inclusive, public and multicultural event – entry by registration.

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