About this Event
INVITATION: Launch of the Centre on Radicalisation, Inclusion and Social Equity (RISE)
Date: Tuesday 19 May 2026
Time: 09:30 – 17:30 (Registration from 09:30, programme begins 10:00)
Venue: Conference Aston – Hotel and Conference Centre, Aston University, Birmingham
Contact: Project Manager, Mahvesh Ibrar, ([email protected])
Overview
We invite you to the launch of the Centre on Radicalisation, Inclusion and Social Equity (RISE) at Aston University, marking an important moment for critical security studies in Britain. At a time of intensifying political polarisation, resurgent ethno-nationalist violence and the growing presence of preventative security infrastructures within everyday governance, RISE offers a clear intellectual alternative.
The Centre brings together expertise from criminology, sociology, politics, forensic linguistics and digital humanities to rethink conventional approaches to radicalisation and violent extremism through a social justice lens. Rather than focusing narrowly on individual behaviour and risk management, RISE examines the wider structural dynamics of racism, social exclusion and state power that shape contemporary forms of violence and insecurity.
We challenge prevailing counter-extremism approaches characterised by narrow behavioural psychology, risk management logics and state-centred securitisation that individualise radicalisation while obscuring the structural dynamics of racism, social exclusion and institutional Islamophobia. Instead, we reposition the study of violent extremism within a critical criminological and socio-political framework that prioritises social justice, interdisciplinary rigour and ethically grounded intervention.
This is not a ceremonial launch, but a statement of intent: to move from critique to construction; to centre communities most directly affected by securitisation as partners in knowledge production rather than subjects of study; and to create space for new forms of dialogue, research and practice between academics, practitioners, policymakers and civil society.
The Programme
09:30 – 10:00
Registration & Coffee
10:00 – 10:30
Welcome and opening remarks
Welcome Address: Representative from Aston University
Founding Director’s Address:“Rethinking Radicalisation: The Intellectual Rationale and Strategic Vision of RISE”: Professor Tahir Abbas, Founding Director, RISE, Aston University
10:30 – 11:45
Panel One – State Power, Securitisation and Social Exclusion
Chair: Dr Narzanin Massoumi, University of Exeter
Presenter 1: Professor Gabe Mythen, University of Liverpool
Presenter 2: Professor Charlotte Heath-Kelly, University of Warwick
Presenter 3: Dr Aaron Winter, Lancaster University
Presenter 4: Dr Richard McNeil-Wilson, University of Edinburgh
11:45 – 12.00
Coffee break
12:00 –13:15
Panel Two - Collaborative Ventures -Research, Policy and Institutional Partnership
Chair: Dr Balazs Szent-Ivanyi, Aston University
Presenter 1: Waqar Ahmed, Birmingham City Council
Presenter 2: Hakk Ozal, Dialogue Society
Presenter 3: Priya Sahni-Nicholas, Equality Trust
Presenter 4: Shaid Parveen, Aston University
13:15 – 14:30
Lunch and exhibition
14:30 – 15:45
Panel Three - Digital Frontiers – AI, Extremism and Forensic Analysis
Chair: Professor Tim Grant, Aston University
Presenter 1: Tara Baloch,British Muslim Trust
Presenter 2: Dr Rizwan Mustafa, DRM International
Presenter 3: Dr Joseph Downing, Aston University
Presenter 4: Anne Jenichen, Aston University
15:45 - 16:00
Coffee Break
16:00 – 17:15
Panel Four – Community Voices – Practitioners, Grassroots and the Lived Experience of Belonging
Chair: Dr Ebru Soytemel, Aston University
Presenter 1: Jehangir Malik, Together with Refugees Coalition
Presenter 2: Dr Anna Gillions, Coventry University
Presenter 3: Lorna Shaw, Birmingham Race Impact Group
Presenter 4: Bishop David Evans, Archdiocese of Birmingham
17:15 – 17:30
Final summary and closing remarks
Moving Forward: Critical Security Studies and the Promise of Social Justice:
Dr Parveen Akhtar, Aston University
Professor Tahir Abbas.
Practical Information
Registration
Attendance is free but registration is essential. Please confirm your place via Eventbrite.
Car Parking
Onsite parking must be booked and paid for online prior to arrival. A valid Vehicle Registration Number is required when booking. A map and car park access code will be emailed with your confirmation.
Book online: www.conferenceaston.co.uk/carparking
If our car park is fully booked, nearby pay-and-display parking is available at Millennium Point (pre-booking not required). Details at www.conferenceaston.co.uk
Accessibility
The venue is fully accessible. Please email [email protected] to request accessible parking or to discuss any specific access requirements.
Contact
For queries regarding the programme, speaker line-up or registration, please contact Mahvesh Ibrar at [email protected].
Join us as we enact RISE’s central proposition: effective security research must also be socially equitable. We look forward to welcoming you to Birmingham for this important conversation.
Professor Tahir Abbas FRSA FAcSS, founding director of the RISE Centre, Aston University
Event Venue & Nearby Stays
Conference Aston - Hotel and Conference Centre, Aston Street, Birmingham, United Kingdom
GBP 0.00
