Amsterdam - Policy makers of several Dutch, British and German cities began a two-day conference on Thursday to discuss the subject of radicalization among Muslims, a spokesman for the city of Amsterdam said.

The participants were due to talk about the origin of radicalization among young Muslims and the various approaches to tackling the problem.

The roles of local authorities, schools, youth workers and local communities in the lives of young Muslims were part of the conference agenda.

Local policy makers from the four major Dutch city of Amsterdam, Rotterdam, The Hague and Utrecht took part.

Representatives of the German city of Essen and Birmingham in England were also present.

The meeting, an initiative supported by the European Commission, was to assist local policy makers to recognize radicalization in its early stages and deal with subsequent problems.

The participants of the six European cities are due to formulate a so-called "solution matrix" that can help other European cities tackle similar problems.

The matrix is to be presented at the end of the conference on Friday. dpa