Season of Legality Campaign in The Hague, 9th of April 2009

On the 9th of April, in cooperation with the Freedom Legality and Rights in Europe Network (FLARE) and the European Institute for Democratic Participation (EIDP), GHRD held the 10th event of the Season of Legality, the first European social campaign for the fight against organized crime (OC).

The day was divided into two parts. The first, “€uro Mafia: Do You Know about the Globalization of Mafia and Organized Crime in Europe?” took place at the Haagse Hogeschool and was aimed at students and young people. The second part, directed towards NGO’s and other institutions with an interest in OC, was titled “The Globalisation of Mafia and Organized Crime in Europe: Scenarios and Perspectives in the Netherlands” and was held at the prestigious Clingendael Institute for International Relations in The Hague.

During the first half of the day, the students viewed presentations about FLARE and OC and were shown short videos on the realities of OC.

In the interactive part of the programme, the participants were challenged to combine their earlier knowledge and opinions with the information provided to partake in a lively debate. Topics ranged from policies on prostitution and drugs to the Lover Boys phenomenon in The Netherlands. Overall, the event served to raise awareness and knowledge of OC amongst young people in The Netherlands and provide information on the tools available to civil society in fighting OC.

The event at the Clingendael Institute had the purpose of bringing together various parties involved with and affected by OC in the Netherlands and Europe and created an opportunity to share information, raise issues and debate approaches to combat OC.

To this end, presentations were given by Michele Curto, President of FLARE; Ms. Dina Siegel, President of the International Association for the Study of Organized Crime, member of the Board of the Centre for Information and Research on Organized Crime, Assistant Professor at the Department of Criminology and Criminal Law, VU University, Amsterdam, the Netherlands; Ms. Corinne Dettmeijer-Vermeulen, Dutch National Rapporteur on Trafficking in Human Beings and Ms. Gabriella Stramaccioni, President of LIBERA, Associations, names and numbers against mafias. Both events also included a special presentation by Bruce Cerew of his second book “Long Road,” chronicling his and others journeys from war-torn Africa to life as a refugee in Europe.

Your Fight Art Contest – HHS Students wins a free trip to Italy.