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, the spokesperson of Belgium's National Crisis Centre 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
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.
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 Stevens
Spokesperson, National Crisis Centre (NCCN) | Chairperson, IPCR Crisis Communicators' Network
Speaking to a country in crisis: lessons from the National Crisis Centre
When a crisis hits the whole country, the government has to speak with one voice, fast, and often before all the facts are known. Yves Stevens shares how the National Crisis Centre communicates in those moments, from the Brussels attacks of 22 March 2016 to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Show bio of Yves Stevens
Yves Stevens is spokesperson for Belgium's National Crisis Centre (NCCN), where he shares responsibility for risk and crisis communication. He chairs the Crisis Communicators' Network of the EU's Integrated Political Crisis Response (IPCR) and is a member of Team D5, Belgium's national crisis communication team. He has spoken widely about the Crisis Centre's communication after the Brussels terrorist attacks of 22 March 2016. During the COVID-19 pandemic, he became one of the best-known faces of the government's crisis communication, leading more than 200 press conferences, and in 2022 he was named Spokesperson of the Year. After a period as communications director for the Minister of the Interior, he returned to the National Crisis Centre.
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