Youri Metin De Brabander studied history at the university of Ghent and international relations and diplomacy in Antwerp. The University of Antwerp offers a study trip to the Permanent Representation of Belgium to NATO in its yearly programme and this visit ignited a passion for the organisation in him that remains to this day. He followed an additional training at the European Academy of Diplomacy in Warsaw and his research mainly focusses on Baltic Sea Region (BSR) Security.