The conference brings together academics and policy makers working in various fields of Societal Security. During one day, we will address some of the most critical policy issues in today’s EU policies. Specifically, we will discuss policy-relevant research and its implementation at the European Union level regarding: 1) Privacy and data protection; 2) Health, epidemics and environment; 3) Terrorism and counter radicalization; and 3) The EU’s role in reinforcing cultural diplomacy for sustaining peace and security. The event aims to provide an overview on the complexity and interlinkages among various areas of societal security, societal resilience and policy-making, with a special emphasis on the actors involved. All together we will try to find the answers to these and other questions: What do the EU does to protect our data and privacy? How do the EU tackle the global epidemic threats? Are there preventive counter-terrorism policies developed by the EU actors and do they work? How does cultural diplomacy contribute to maintenance of the current peace and security agenda?
 
This event is organized by the Institute for European Studies (IES) under the auspices of the SOURCE project and the SOURCE network of excellence. The aim of the SOURCE Network of Excellence is to create a robust and sustainable virtual centre of excellence capable of exploring and advancing societal issues in security research and development. This project is s financed by the European Union FP7 programme. This event is part of a larger effort to produce and disseminate learning materials on societal security. Therefore, it will be filmed and shared publically.