Event
Under pressure: crisis symposium
12 November 2026
The evening
On Thursday 12 November 2026, Brum Smith hosts an evening on crisis leadership at Silversquare North. A crisis communication researcher and a former Prime Minister share what it really takes to decide and communicate when everything is at stake. The evening is in English.
Meet your speakers
Laurence Balliu
PhD researcher in crisis communication, Ghent University
Conflicting interests in a crisis? The trade-offs communication and legal professionals make under pressure
When a crisis hits, organisations speak to the media first and to the people affected last. Laurence Balliu shares what her research shows about reaching communities, and why PR advisers and legal counsel have to work together when the pressure is on.
Show bio of Laurence Balliu
Laurence Balliu is a PhD student at the Department of Translation, Interpreting and Communication at Ghent University (Faculty of Arts and Philosophy). She holds a Bachelor’s in Applied Linguistics (Dutch, English, French) and a Master’s in Multilingual Communication. Her research focuses on crisis communication, with particular attention to community relations. She is also working on a research project, funded by the Research Foundation – Flanders (FWO), that focuses specifically on how communication and legal professionals work together during a crisis. At Ghent University, she is a member of the MULTIPLES research group (Research Centre for Multilingualism and Language Practices in Society).
Yves Leterme
Former Prime Minister of Belgium
Stakeholders, markets and decision-making in the 2008 banking crisis
In autumn 2008, Belgium's largest banks were on the brink. Yves Leterme explains how his government decided within days, with global markets breathing down its neck, and what it takes to communicate when citizens fear for their savings.
Show bio of Yves Leterme
Yves Leterme (born 1960) is a Belgian Christian Democrat (CD&V) politician who served as Prime Minister of Belgium in 2008 and from 2009 to 2011. In 2008, he faced a banking crisis of unprecedented scale. With global markets in turmoil, his government had to take far-reaching decisions at short notice to rescue systemically important banks and protect citizens' savings across several European countries.
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