The Embassy of Italy to the Kingdom of Belgium and the Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB), in cooperation with the Italian Institute of Culture (IIC), have organized a joint high-level round-table focusing on the fight against organized crime and terrorism.
The debate will address how Belgium and Italy have developed their expertise on the fight against organized crime and international terrorism and how they could exchange their respective best practices. The discussion will be introduced by the Ambassador of Italy to Belgium, Elena Basile, and the Rector of Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Caroline Pauwels.
Key-note speakers will be: On the Italian side, the Italian Anti-Mafia National Prosecutor, Federico Cafiero De Raho, and Honorable Member of the European Parliament and Member of the Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs, Caterina Chinnici; on the Belgian side, Catherine De Bolle, Executive Director of EUROPOL* and Hans Van De Wal, current Secretary of the ECBA (European Criminal Bar Association).
This high-level round-table is also part of an event dedicated to the figure of Rocco Chinnici, an Italian judge brutally killed by mafia in 1983. Caterina Chinnici, daughter of the Italian judge and judge herself, played a prominent role in this initiative. In 2015 she released a novel where she narrates the story of judge Rocco Chinnici’s life through the daughter’s eyes. The movie Rocco Chinnici – So light is your kiss on my forehead, based on Caterina Chinnici’s novel and presented at the European Parliament last January, will be screened after the panel discussion. Luca Barbareschi, Italian actor and the movie’s producer, will also be present.
* still to be confirmed