Youth Work against Violent...

Youth Work againstViolent Radicalisation

International ConferenceMalta, 28 - 30 November 2017

Report by Martino Pillitteri

AcknowledgementsReport written by: Martino PilliterriEditing: Sonja Mitter ŠkuljProofreading: AdriatIQa, Ljubljana, SloveniaDesign and layout: Bottega della ComunicazionePhotos: Martino PillitteriThe conference and the final report were made with the support of the European Commission.The content of this report is the sole responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily reflect the views of the European Commission or the National Agencies or SALTO-YOUTH Resource Centres involved in this project.

Table of contentsIntroduction 05 The conference in brief 06Context and main insights 08What the conference planned to achieve 10

The conference day-by-day

Day 1 - 28th November

Opening 11 Participants’ expectations 12 Give meaning a name: what is… radicalism, extremism, terrorism,prevention/countering, youth work, violence? 15 Presentation of the research “Youth Work against Violent Radicalisation: Theory, Concepts and Primary Prevention in Practice” 17

Day 2 - 29th November

Plenary discussion with experts: “Looking at radicalisation from different angles” 22 • Mr Darek Grzemny (Poland): Human rights education and its role in dealing with violent radicalisation 22

Workshops held by the same experts: Prevention of violent radicalisation in action 31 • Ms Farkhanda Chaudhry (U.K.): Interfaith and interreligious dialogue 31 • Ms Michaela Glaser (Germany): Social work approaches with young people at risk or those already involvedwith extremist work views and groups 31 • Ms Deborah Erwin (Northern Ireland, U.K.): Preventing violent extremism – political and civic education 34

Exploring good practices: five workshops introducing inspiring practicespresented in the research (mapping exercise) 37 • Veronique de Leener (Belgium, Maks vzw.): How to use digital story telling as a pathway to encounter radicalisation 37 • Dejan Rađen (Bosnia and Herzegovina, PRONI): Citizens against terrorism 39 • Dave Stewart (U.K.): Matrix and Challenge cards 42 • Kemal Yaldizli (Norway, Youth against Violence): Collaboration and impact on different levels of society for the prevention of radicalisation 43 • Suha Ayyash (Jordan, I-DARE): Prevention of violent extremism – a grassroots approach from Jordan 44

Exploring more good practices: six workshops introducing participants’ experiences 46

• Elena Frau (Italy, Association NEA): Seven words for Intercultural understanding, Integration and Diversity 46 • Johanne Kalsaas (Red Cross Norway): Street mediation 46

• Oleksandr Formichov (Ukraine, Charitable Fund, League of Tolerance): Play for human rights 48 • Jessica Walker (ERYICA): Liaisons, prevention of youth violent extremism. Manual for youth workers 49 • Francesc Reales (Catalonia): Exploring different approaches to prevent youth radicalisation 50 • Judit Lantai (Hungary, ECYC): Dynamic map – where does your practice stand in the prevention of violent radicalisation? 51

Day 3 – 30th November

Academia Morning: four research-based perspectives and projectstargeting young people’s violent radicalisation 53

• Soso Dolidze (Georgia, Association "Psychologists for Justice"): Georgian prison criminal subculture and its influence on prisoners 53 • Arife Muji (Kosovar Centre for Security Studies): Reintegration and deradicalisation programmes for radicalised persons. What approach is best for Kosovo? 54 • Suha Ayyash (Jordan, I-DARE): Prevention of violent extremism – City of Martyrs 56 • Aya Chebbi (Afrika Youth Movement): Youth Radicalisation – comparison between Al-Shabaab recruitment in Kenya and Daesh recruitment in Tunesia 58

What do we still want to discuss before the end of the conference?Working groups on topics suggested by participants 60

• Looking at the future: Risks and limitations related to the prevention of violent radicalisation 60 • Consideration of the context/multi-sectorial approach 60 • Ethics, confidentiality and safety 61 • Funding and support offered by European institutions and programmes 62

Final reflections and outcomes 63

Achievements and outlook 66

Interviews with Participants • Carmine Rodi Falanga (Italy, trainer and consultant) 68 • Aya Chebbi (Tunisia, Africa Youth Movement) 70 • Kemal Yaldizli (Norway, Youth against Violence) 72 • Lana Pašić (Bosnia and Herzegovina , researcher and consultant) 73

Annexes

Programme overview 76List of participants 77Selected resources 80

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Introduction________________________________________________________________

Today, when radicalisation is on the rise and its violent outcomes are destabilising the world order and the peaceful coexistence between cultures and faiths, and are putting at risk fundamental democratic values, civil society organisations, media platforms, educational institutions, community leaders, religious figures and politicians are being called up and challenged to come up with new ideas, solutions and counter-narratives that can prevent forthcoming acts of violence.

Some of the new solutions, measures and approaches to be employed in the prevention of violent radicalisation can arise from young people’s skills, world views, cultural languages and experiences. As a matter of fact, young people are in a unique position to be both victims and solution makers in the fight against violent radicalisation. While youngsters are recruited by violent groups, it is also true that young people recognise better than anybody else their peer’s reasons and the complexity of different dynamics that can lead them to radicalisation.

The personal journey of Dejan Raden is living proof that youth work and young people’s involvement can play a significant role in preventing radicalisation. Born in Bosnia and Herzegovina in 1995 during a war that shook former Yugoslavia, he grew up surrounded by violence, resentments and hate speeches, ending up embracing vicious narratives and symbolisms. Ultimately, Dejan’s path took a new direction when he applied for and enrolled in a non-formal education project. Thanks to that experience, the young teenager turned into a positive role model tasking himself with helping other youngsters who are going through a radicalisation process.

Remarkably, Dejan is now part of an organisation involved in supporting young people’s resilience and anti-radicalisation projects. Dejan, whose story is highlighted and narrated in this report1, was one of the over one-hundred talents and youth work professionals who came together from different countries for the three-day conference Youth Work against Violent Radicalisation, held in Malta.

1 - Dejan shared his story in a workshop, see pages 19-21.

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The conference in brief________________________________________________________________

Title: Youth Work against Violent Radicalisation.

Dates and venue: 28 - 30 November 2018, Malta.

Conference organisers: SALTO-YOUTH EuroMed, SALTO Eastern Europe and Caucasus and SALTO South East Europe Resource Centres; National Agencies of Erasmus+: Youth in Action of France, Germany, Italy, Malta, The Netherlands, Norway, Poland, and the United Kingdom; Partnership between the European Commission and the Council of Europe in the Field of Youth.

Number of participants: 94 participants and 2 facilitators.

Participants’ countries of residence: Austria, Azerbaijan, Armenia, Georgia, Kosovo2, Malta, France, Italy, Spain, the United Kingdom, Poland, Hungary, Tunisia, Jordan, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Norway, Bulgaria, Morocco, Kosovo, Switzerland, The Netherlands, Serbia, Montenegro and Estonia.

Participants’ profile: Practitioners active in the field of the prevention of young people’s violent radicalisation, experts with proven experience in the field, particularly in working with young people through a preventive approach to violent radicalisation ranging from: NGOs directly engaged in the topic and those working on related themes; youth leaders; youth workers; public authorities; professionals from other sectors (schools, social work, community work etc.); researchers with relevant experience and expertise; policy-makers with significant practices and know-how.

Aim of the conference: Raising awareness about and further explore the role of youth work in preventing and building young people’s resilience against violent radicalisation. The conference represents a part of a long-term strategy. It was based on the outcomes of a survey, undertaken by the project partners (see conference organisers) mapping inspiring practices of NGOs working on the topic across and beyond Europe3.

2 - This designation is without prejudice to positions on status, and is in line with UNSCR 1244 and the ICJ Opinion on the Kosovo declaration of independence.3 - More information about the strategy and the survey are available on the SALTO-YOUTH project web pages: https://www.salto-youth.net/about/regionalcooperation/current/againstviolentradicalisation/

Working methods and approaches: Key inputs, active listening, active participation, group work, workshops, sharing, non-violent communication

Added values: Participants’ heterogeneity: The conference was attended by people with different backgrounds in age, nationality, religion, experience, professional profile and aspirations, and academic curriculum.

The conference was designed to inform through the experts’ presentations; to inspire through stories and compelling narratives; to engage through participation in group discussions and workshops focusing on specific aspects and approaches; to raise awareness and motivate through networking and learning from other practices and realities.

The conference placed strong emphasis on sharing and the adaptation/transferability of practices to different contexts.

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The conference in brief________________________________________________________________

Title: Youth Work against Violent Radicalisation.

Dates and venue: 28 - 30 November 2018, Malta.

Conference organisers: SALTO-YOUTH EuroMed, SALTO Eastern Europe and Caucasus and SALTO South East Europe Resource Centres; National Agencies of Erasmus+: Youth in Action of France, Germany, Italy, Malta, The Netherlands, Norway, Poland, and the United Kingdom; Partnership between the European Commission and the Council of Europe in the Field of Youth.

Number of participants: 94 participants and 2 facilitators.

Participants’ countries of residence: Austria, Azerbaijan, Armenia, Georgia, Kosovo2, Malta, France, Italy, Spain, the United Kingdom, Poland, Hungary, Tunisia, Jordan, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Norway, Bulgaria, Morocco, Kosovo, Switzerland, The Netherlands, Serbia, Montenegro and Estonia.

Participants’ profile: Practitioners active in the field of the prevention of young people’s violent radicalisation, experts with proven experience in the field, particularly in working with young people through a preventive approach to violent radicalisation ranging from: NGOs directly engaged in the topic and those working on related themes; youth leaders; youth workers; public authorities; professionals from other sectors (schools, social work, community work etc.); researchers with relevant experience and expertise; policy-makers with significant practices and know-how.

Aim of the conference: Raising awareness about and further explore the role of youth work in preventing and building young people’s resilience against violent radicalisation. The conference represents a part of a long-term strategy. It was based on the outcomes of a survey, undertaken by the project partners (see conference organisers) mapping inspiring practices of NGOs working on the topic across and beyond Europe3.

Working methods and approaches: Key inputs, active listening, active participation, group work, workshops, sharing, non-violent communication

Added values: Participants’ heterogeneity: The conference was attended by people with different backgrounds in age, nationality, religion, experience, professional profile and aspirations, and academic curriculum.

The conference was designed to inform through the experts’ presentations; to inspire through stories and compelling narratives; to engage through participation in group discussions and workshops focusing on specific aspects and approaches; to raise awareness and motivate through networking and learning from other practices and realities.

The conference placed strong emphasis on sharing and the adaptation/transferability of practices to different contexts.

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Context and main insights________________________________________________________________

It’s not local, it’s not an isolated case, it’s not foreseeable, and it’s unique and different each time. It affects individuals and societies, it can cause unimaginable collateral damages, trigger devastating reactions, influence the outcomes of elections, impact on legislations and deprive many young people of a normal future. It is one of the most challenging battles contemporary societies are confronted with: preventing radicalisation from turning into violence.

As the challenge grows transnationally, the understanding of its motives, its drivers and its social and identity-related dynamics is enduring a crisis of commonly recognised and accepted comprehension. We are also witnessing the emergence of a new form of radicalisation that is rooted in a new time and in a new socio-political context.

Political and security players, who hold the responsibility for preventing acts of violent radicalisation, are struggling to put in place successful counter-measures and policies. Too often, institutions tend to react to events instead of investing in prevention and training. As violent acts driven by radicalisation keep striking in different forms, the institutions entrusted with the responsibility of confronting the phenomenon, at least partially, rely on measures that are perceived, especially by young people, as being part of the problem rather than the solution.

An alternative set of approaches that emerges from bottom up is possible and deserves more attention in the current discussions. There is an unreported, under-represented, under-addressed, underestimated and uncoordinated human factor that can make inroads in the fight against violent radicalisation: the involvement of youth work. As a matter of fact, youth work has a very important role to play in the prevention of violent radicalisation, supporting and empowering young people to deal with the challenges they are facing and strengthening their resilience. Youth work is particularly important at the stage of prevention, as young people are susceptible to various influences during the critical stage of adolescence, and if they perceive themselves as susceptible to discrimination, social exclusion or marginalisation, they are more at risk.

As emerged from a round of discussions and meetings held in 2017 in the lead-up to the conference by the organising partners, addressing constructive ways and initiatives in which youth radicalisation leading to violence can be prevented, youth work can make an important difference to young people at this stage, by focusing on: empowering youths to have a greater degree of autonomy, self-determination and control over their lives in order to enable them to follow their interests in a responsible way; supporting youths to deal with challenges they are facing; strengthening young people‘s resilience to violent ideologies by helping them recognise the harm violence can cause to them and their communities and suggesting alternative, positive ways forward.

In this regard, youth workers may work on the development of young people’s life skills, critical thinking, intercultural competences, active citizenship, promotion of diversity, and common values of freedom and tolerance through non-formal and informal learning. They may create safe spaces for discussions, approaching controversial topics, questions and opportunities for young people’s engagement. Young people’s commitments, sets of soft skills, motivation, expressions of active citizenship, capacity to relate to their peers, and intercultural competences represent uncharted alternatives on which new policies can be based and built.

How youth work efforts and specific contributions can yield encouraging results is yet to be seen and proven. Yet, two steps forward in this direction were made: The conference in Malta articulated that the specific contributions youth work can offer in the field of prevention can be complementary to the measures that have already been adopted by entrusted institutions. The conference also contributed to defining the scope, added value and effectiveness of such contributions.

The contributions made by youth work should not be considered as the saviour of the world, but they are without doubt well positioned to play an innovative role, inject fresh independent ideas, communicate to broader audiences and work in partnership to shape a future that young people are entitled to enjoy without being the collateral fatalities of other young people’s actions and misdeeds.

As the fight against violent radicalisation will strain our wills in the years to come; equipping and training the next leadership of passionate and motivated young professionals should begin now.

What the conferenceplanned to achieve

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The conference represents the second stage in a long-term strategy about youth work against violent radicalisation, involving various European countries and Europe's neighbouring regions. It was based on the outcomes of a mapping exercise aimed at showcasing the positive ways and initiatives in which youth violent radicalisation can be addressed.

Within the framework of the mapping exercise, youth workers, youth led organisations and NGOs for youth, informal groups, institutions and public authorities implementing social, cultural, educational, political and sports-related activities through youth work were invited to complete a survey according to specific criteria. The goal was to draw lessons, conclusions and recommendations regarding the needs and challenges of youth work at different levels (more information, see footnote 1).

The conference had the following objectives:

► To explore the concept of youth radicalisation, its forms and manifestations, ► To increase participants’ understanding regarding the role of youth work in preventing violent radicalisation and in supporting young people’s resilience and empowerment,► To share the outcomes of the research/mapping exercise about youth work against violent radicalisation done by the partners prior to the conference,► To create a space for sharing inspiring practices among participants and for identifying the potential for the adaptation of existing practices,► To strengthen the links of youth work to related fields and sectors where cooperation is useful in order to achieve more in the prevention of violent radicalisation,► To explore the support measures of Erasmus +: Youth in Action and other programmes for youth NGOs working on the theme of the conference,► To create a stable foundation for the establishment of an international network of practitioners and professionals involved in the prevention of violent radicalisation.

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The conference day-by-day______________________________________________________________

DAY 1 - 28th November

Opening The conference kick-off day focused on defining the context, the objectives and expectations. After a welcome note from Ms Ann Marvin from the hosting Maltese National Agency for Erasmus+ and an introductory overviewdelivered by Ms Federica Demicheli, project manager in the SALTO EuroMed Resource Centre, on behalf of the organising team, who shared the map of the institutions and actors behind the conference, the organisers moved on engaging a jam-packed room with 106 participants, acknowledging previous work on the topic, addressing the importance of the challenge and highlighting the aim to put a meaning behind the word ‘radicalisation’, a noun that carries many meanings and different connotations.

The beginning of the conference also addressed the issue of different manifestations of radicalisation, the dimension of prevention, and the role of the youth in preventing radicalisation from turning into violent acts. The importance of sharing the knowledge acquired was pointed out, especially of how to adapt it and use it in a way that can make a difference in the participants’ professional roles or in their course of studies.

The motivational and inspirational

role was assigned to Ms Miriam Teuma, Director of the Youth Department and President of the Maltese Association of Youth Workers. Ms Teuma delivered a speech appealing to the participants’ realities and emphasising the implications that combatting radicalisation and violent extremism could have for the policies, programmes and initiatives at the local, regional, national and European level. “When there are new programmes, she wondered, there are new policies put in place. However, where is the EU strategy?”

In her speech she argued that youth work is radical as such, because it tries to change the mindset of society, therefore it is not something that should be perceived as negative. But we must fight it when it turns and reaches the level of violent radicalisation. She also acknowledged that radicalisation was a phenomenon that did not take root in our contemporary times and challenged the audience to think at what point radicalisation becomes bad. She then urged youth workers not to turn into social controllers.

Participants’ expectations As the conference progressed, the floor was given to the participants who were asked by the facilitators to formulate on Post-it notes of different colours their answers to three questions:

1. What is my personal objective for this conference?

2. For which questions would I like to find answers?

3. For what do I need the outcomes of this conference?

Participants’ Responses1. With regard to the participants’ personal objectives, the first day of the conference highlighted their craving for acquiring a new set of skills, discovering the programmes and tools to be employed in their work, broadening their scope of knowledge, and exchanging valuable information and best practices about how other professionals and organisations are approaching the topic.

The importance of networking was widely underlined. Building a network of professionals and experts as well as finding new partners to engage in common programmes and activities was stressed as a priority.

5. Youth workers and youth organisations need to become more politically aware, especially in order to understand the links between phenomena such as the far right being more and more mainstream in the public space and violent radicalisation or the stigmatisation of certain groups (Islamophobia).

6. We need to keep in mind this is also a question of values, and it is linked with the basic work against racism and discrimination, so youth workers need to be aware and know how to work with these concepts.

With regards to the issue of prevention, the groups backed up holistic approaches, the creation of partnerships, open discussions about violent radicalisation, and the promotion of new role models, and called for more access to information related to the topic.

It was suggested that the best way they can use the information in their work is by taking a step backwards in order to think over their mission and process with more information and data. The discussion also focused on the need to engage families and minor refugees. Groups also pledged to be very active in spreading the information out within their networks when returning home.

On the issue related to trajectory, the group considered how the model presented in the research could be helpful for youth workers or if more helpful models do exist. The group members underlined how each stage needs a different prevention approach. The participants further enquired where the turning point should be demarcated from prevention to rehabilitation.

The group agreed that empowering (vulnerable) young people is the most influencing factor for prevention and that the model could be helpful and used in cases where youth workers are cooperating with other organisations or institutions (school, police, municipality…). The clarification regarding which organisation/institution is responsible for which level of preventive work needs to be addressed as well. The main challenges of youth work identified included:

► Understanding and recognising the phenomenon

► Further training and networking

► Measuring impact

► Institutional support to promote active citizenship, social inclusion, intercultural dialogue

► Funding

► Improving current practices

► Practical approaches

► Public and political recognition of youth work and its added value

Additional take-aways► The discussions that ensued stressed the methods explained in the research were indeed “good examples” and worth promoting. The research, it was said, was not representative and only collected various examples of youth work. Since there was no long-term experience in PVR practices, there was the need to test the methods and verify them. At the same time, we need to take into consideration that one method may not be effective when applied in different circumstances/environment.

► It is important to start working with young people as early as possible. Adolescents tend to get radicalised very quickly at a time when it is already very challenging to intervene.

► Information/access to information is one of key factors when it comes to PVR. Young people need to be familiarised with and to appreciate diversity.

► Holistic approach: The youth should be treated as a whole and youth work should address all the needs young people crave, including the need of a spiritual life (which is particularly important in secular Europe).

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The conference day-by-day______________________________________________________________


Opening The conference kick-off day focused on defining the context, the objectives and expectations. After a welcome note from Ms Ann Marvin from the hosting Maltese National Agency for Erasmus+ and an introductory overviewdelivered by Ms Federica Demicheli, project manager in the SALTO EuroMed Resource Centre, on behalf of the organising team, who shared the map of the institutions and actors behind the conference, the organisers moved on engaging a jam-packed room with 106 participants, acknowledging previous work on the topic, addressing the importance of the challenge and highlighting the aim to put a meaning behind the word ‘radicalisation’, a noun that carries many meanings and different connotations.

The beginning of the conference also addressed the issue of different manifestations of radicalisation, the dimension of prevention, and the role of the youth in preventing radicalisation from turning into violent acts. The importance of sharing the knowledge acquired was pointed out, especially of how to adapt it and use it in a way that can make a difference in the participants’ professional roles or in their course of studies.

The motivational and inspirational

role was assigned to Ms Miriam Teuma, Director of the Youth Department and President of the Maltese Association of Youth Workers. Ms Teuma delivered a speech appealing to the participants’ realities and emphasising the implications that combatting radicalisation and violent extremism could have for the policies, programmes and initiatives at the local, regional, national and European level. “When there are new programmes, she wondered, there are new policies put in place. However, where is the EU strategy?”

In her speech she argued that youth work is radical as such, because it tries to change the mindset of society, therefore it is not something that should be perceived as negative. But we must fight it when it turns and reaches the level of violent radicalisation. She also acknowledged that radicalisation was a phenomenon that did not take root in our contemporary times and challenged the audience to think at what point radicalisation becomes bad. She then urged youth workers not to turn into social controllers.

Participants’ expectations As the conference progressed, the floor was given to the participants who were asked by the facilitators to formulate on Post-it notes of different colours their answers to three questions:

1. What is my personal objective for this conference?

2. For which questions would I like to find answers?

3. For what do I need the outcomes of this conference?

Participants’ Responses1. With regard to the participants’ personal objectives, the first day of the conference highlighted their craving for acquiring a new set of skills, discovering the programmes and tools to be employed in their work, broadening their scope of knowledge, and exchanging valuable information and best practices about how other professionals and organisations are approaching the topic.

The importance of networking was widely underlined. Building a network of professionals and experts as well as finding new partners to engage in common programmes and activities was stressed as a priority.

Over 30% of the participants said (on the first day of the conference) that they had already met at least one potential new partner to work with in the future. Four participants acknowledged that they had crossed paths with at least 4 new potential partners.











► Funding








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2. As for the questions for which the participants wanted to find answers during the conference, participants expressed the following queries:

► What are the signs that make a radicalised person visible within a group?

► How can a youth worker collaborate with established professionals?

► What is the future of non-formal youth work?

► How can we prevent conflicts prompted by radical acts?

► How to prevent hate speech?

► Is there a European perspective?

► Are we against radicalisation per se?

► Is there reliable data mapping and detailing on the presence of radicalised people in Europe?

► Do prevention measures change according to countries and cultures?

► What are the root causes of extremism?

► How do/can we succeed in adopting a universal definition of the word radicalisation?

► How do we leverage information in the promotion of world peace?

► What are the initiatives and programmes currently in place?

► Are there case studies of people who had been de-radicalised?

► What are the terminologies we can use that will not offend people and professionals of other cultures and religions?

Can practices that work successfully at the local level be used within a bigger scope

3. With regard to how the participants were going to use the conference outcomes in their work/life, the answers were:

► Starting projects with new partners

► Comparing researches

► Updating practices and understanding

► Further developing current initiatives to make them more effective

► Sharing inputs and knowledge within their networks

► Organising workshops

► Expanding the network of stakeholders

Adding valuable insights to the content they produce and share it on social media to better market themselves towards their stakeholders in order to increase their reputation as competent professionals in the field











► Funding








14

2. As for the questions for which the participants wanted to find answers during the conference, participants expressed the following queries:

► What are the signs that make a radicalised person visible within a group?

► How can a youth worker collaborate with established professionals?

► What is the future of non-formal youth work?

► How can we prevent conflicts prompted by radical acts?

► How to prevent hate speech?

► Is there a European perspective?

► Are we against radicalisation per se?

► Is there reliable data mapping and detailing on the presence of radicalised people in Europe?

► Do prevention measures change according to countries and cultures?

► What are the root causes of extremism?

► How do/can we succeed in adopting a universal definition of the word radicalisation?

► How do we leverage information in the promotion of world peace?

► What are the initiatives and programmes currently in place?

► Are there case studies of people who had been de-radicalised?

► What are the terminologies we can use that will not offend people and professionals of other cultures and religions?

Can practices that work successfully at the local level be used within a bigger scope

3. With regard to how the participants were going to use the conference outcomes in their work/life, the answers were:

► Starting projects with new partners

► Comparing researches

► Updating practices and understanding

► Further developing current initiatives to make them more effective

► Sharing inputs and knowledge within their networks

► Organising workshops

► Expanding the network of stakeholders

Adding valuable insights to the content they produce and share it on social media to better market themselves towards their stakeholders in order to increase their reputation as competent professionals in the field











► Funding








15

Give meaning a name: what is… radicalism, extremism, terrorism,

prevention, youth work, violence? Participants were invited to form groups tasked with formulating the meaning of those words. The definitions participants came up with were then presented in the plenary and placed on the wall.

Here some of the takeaways from the groups:

The meaning of radicalisation was associated to definitions and concepts that range from ideology, vulnerability, change making, myth maker, marginalisation, way of communication, roots, ideology, intolerance, poor education, lack of support, luck of understating, lack of critical thinking, lack of social recognition, an opportunity to think differently from the “mainstream”, passion, search of a purpose and power, sense of belonging, extremism, emotions, challenging the status quo and the “standards”. The word is also connotated with a strong set of beliefs, it is perceived as a long process that would likely lead to the development of one’s own identity. Other words that resonnated in the group discussions were social exclusion, lack of political participation, narrow- mindedness, and lack of integration.

Radicalisation was also referred as going back to one’s own roots, signalling that the word does not always carry a negative meaning. It was also noted that there is a difference between being a radical and being an extremist. Being radical referred to a change of values and ideas, while being an extremist meant to put them in action, however, not necessarily through violent means.

Violence was associated with physical abuse, manipulation, force, weapons, a basic instinct of the human mind, trauma, imposing something on others, fatalities, defence, defiance, anger, fear, anxiety, intention to harm in the name of a “greater cause”. Violence could be physical, psychological, or moral. It was also pointed out how violence feeds the cycle of generating more violence, and how media narrative can trigger violence as well. A group came up with the pyramid of hate, placing stereotypes at the bottom, genocide at the top, and harassment, hate speech, prejudice, and cyber bullying in the middle.

As for Youth Work, participants underlined their responsibility in promoting and teaching empathy and resilience, in creating opportunities, in discovering and connecting talents that could become positive role models for other young people, and giving young people space to voice their expectations and contributions. It was also noted how young people are quite effective in mobilising their peers as well as identifying common grounds. Among other traits that could make a difference, participants stressed youth workers’ capacity to influence and relate to other young people, their interdisciplinary collaboration, their adaptability, their on-line activism, their voluntarism drive, and to be agents of inclusion, empowerment and inspiration.

Youth work is also about promoting values. Whose values? Those of my agency or organisation? My own? Collective or individual values? These were noteworthy questions.

Though defining the meaning of this term seemed very challenging, the ideas and concepts brainstormed to explain the essence of prevention/ countering initiatives brought about various inputs. It was agreed to be a long process that involves self- awareness, reflection, and the support of trained professionals. Such a process goes through different stages and levels, while various methods are/can be employed. It was noted that prevention is about giving opportunities, it can work within the scope of an inclusive environment. Other key words referring to prevention/ countering ranged from the need to raise critical thinking skills, being active rather than reactive, to building resilience. It was suggested that design strategies should be in place before something happens, to offer alternative forms of expression along with narratives that emphasise a sense of belonging and citizenship. Social inclusion and real economic sustainability perspectives can be huge deterrents in the quest for prevention. Prevention also means promoting a different set of values.

On that note, it was suggested that it made sense to substitute “preventing marginalisation” with “promoting an inclusive society”.

Miscellaneous take-aways

► Throughout their oral presentations, participants stated how the meaning of violence enjoys singular and different connotations according to different cultures. In some cultural contexts, for instance, violence referred to defiance.

► One group stood up to challenge the black and white thinking approach when it comes to dealing with this issue: Reality was more complicated than the discussions indicated. In order to make the case for more critical thinking, the group came up with the hashtag #bringoutthegrey.

► Groups stressed the importance of including youth workers in the political decision-making process.

Presentation of the research“Youth Work against Violent

Radicalisation: Theory, Concepts and Primary Prevention in

Practice”4

This session featured the presentation of the key findings of the research commissioned by the conference organisers and authored by Lana Pašić & Miguel Angel Garcia Lopez.

Within the frame of the mapping exercise, 29 practices were submitted, of which 16 were selected for further analysis. Three practices were selected through purposeful data collection for presentation at the conference. The approaches and activities are diverse, including intercultural education, human rights education, media literacy, peace education, and many others.

The research is part of the long term strategy on the topic of Youth Work against Violent Radicalisation that a consortium of SALTO-YOUTH Resource Centres, National Agenicies for Erasmus+: Youth in Action and the Youth Partnership between the Council of Europe and the European Commission envisioned and have been implementing since autumn 2016. The conference in Malta was the first occasion to share the research results and an opportunity to collect feedback to be considered in the finalisation of the study.

Relevant for the discussion during the conference, the research shows how youth work can make an important difference to young people by focusing on:

► Empowering the youth to have a greater degree of autonomy, self-determination and control over their lives in order to enable them to represent their interests in a responsible way

► Supporting the youth to deal with challenges they face

► Strengthening young people‘s resilience to violent ideologies by helping them recognise the harm violence can cause to them and their communities.

The research also addressed the definition of violent radicalisation; it mapped its forms, manifestations and influencing factors, and it defined the steps towards violent radicalisation.

Among the conclusions and the lessons for prevention, the research endorses the following ideas:

► Holistic approach

► Peer-horizontal relation with youth and trust-building

► Building partnerships with other stakeholders and the community

► Empowering young people developing their competences

► Providing young people with alternatives and roles models

► Dealing explicitly and openly with messages of violent radicalisation and consequences

The end of the session was marked by the participants’ inputs. Participants were asked to work in groups according to different aspects of the research: factors leading to violent radicalisation, trajectories, lessons learned, needs of youth work, challenges of youth work. They were asked to return with their conclusions in view of what were the main learning points for them, why this information was relevant to the realities they worked in, and how they could use it in their daily practice. The groups summed up their reflections on a flipchart and shared the highlights in the plenary.

Research group discussion take-aways

Regarding the needs of youth work in order to (more effectively) combat violent radicalisation, the main discussion outcomes include:1. A long-term approach, but also a different or new approach to reach out to new groups that are vulnerable and often excluded from youth work so far, as well as vulnerable when it comes to radicalisation. For example, this can include suburban youth or rural youth.2. We need more knowledge of the phenomena such as radicalisation, violence and extremism. This also means contextualised knowledge at the national and regional level, clusters about the phenomena and also a clarification of the terms used.3. We need more interdisciplinary work, for example, building trust among different professionals, defining together the different roles and actions and also having a referral system. What is important for youth work is to define its own position, identity and role in the system of different sectors working on this issue.4. We also need a critical approach about the role of youth work, or at least a pragmatic approach. In some countries, youth work is financed by the government, which may have a specific political position, so youth workers need to make sense of this context and make choices on how to navigate in it. The topic is highly politicised in many contexts, so youth workers need to also have a proper reflection on how they position themselves, what they can do, what aims they have in relation to this topic.











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174 - Full research report: https://www.salto-youth.net/about/regionalcooperation/current/againstviolentradicalisation/research/

















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Plenary discussion with experts “Looking at radicalisation from

different angles”________________________________________________________________

Objectives:► Creating a common understanding and field for dialogue about violent radicalisation

► Exploring a deeper vision of different influencing factors which can lead young people towards violent radicalisation

► Bringing new perspectives to the topic of the prevention of violent radicalisation

Four experts (Mr Darek Grzemny (Poland), Ms Farkhanda Chaudhry (U.K.), Ms Deborah Erwin (Northern Ireland, U.K.), Ms Michaela Glaser (Germany)) were introduced and asked to answer the question “What attracts young people to radicalisation”, raising awareness about the different sides of influences. Their insights were addressed to the plenary.

Mr. Dariusz Grzemny was the first expert to take the floor. He is a youth worker in Poland and a trainer/consultant in educational projects across Europe addressing violence, discrimination, hate speech, racism, peace and human rights.

He started off on a very personal note explaining that his identity (Jewish, gay) was not in line with the values promoted by the Polish media and the official stand of the current government, a blend that does not resound well among certain circles of Polish society and in the media. A Polish society that is not











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steering away from nationalistic sentiments and right-wing extremism. His claims were backed up by a collection of press headlines he had assembled from online mainstream media reporting on a rally organised on the occasion of the Polish Independence Day, called by many "the white supremacists’ rally organised by fascist sympathisers”. While the majority of people who took part in the march did not necessarily associate themselves with strong racist views, Mr Grzemny explained, they nevertheless decided to support this event that clearly displayed slogans that can easily be classified as chauvinist and racist.

Mr Grzemny then went on shedding light on what is currently going on in Poland, such as the encouragement of a political climate where people are encouraged to say in public things that were not acceptable before, including nazi-oriented discourses. According to Mr Grzemny, Poland is undergoing a crisis of identity, it bears the misunderstanding of the notion of patriotism, it is paying the price caused by the crisis of education that does not promote diversity and by the lack of alternatives and media propaganda.

Mr Grzemny pointed out that in Poland, being radical had become a part of identity, more precisely a part of being young. He also addressed the effects of a narrative that on the surface features appealing lines such as “I want to save the world; I want to make it a better place,” but deep down is pushing right-wing nationalism discourse inwards. The real, better place endorsed by this narrative was a world where everyone is Polish and white.

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Plenary discussion with experts “Looking at radicalisation from

different angles”________________________________________________________________

Objectives:► Creating a common understanding and field for dialogue about violent radicalisation

► Exploring a deeper vision of different influencing factors which can lead young people towards violent radicalisation

► Bringing new perspectives to the topic of the prevention of violent radicalisation

Four experts (Mr Darek Grzemny (Poland), Ms Farkhanda Chaudhry (U.K.), Ms Deborah Erwin (Northern Ireland, U.K.), Ms Michaela Glaser (Germany)) were introduced and asked to answer the question “What attracts young people to radicalisation”, raising awareness about the different sides of influences. Their insights were addressed to the plenary.

Mr. Dariusz Grzemny was the first expert to take the floor. He is a youth worker in Poland and a trainer/consultant in educational projects across Europe addressing violence, discrimination, hate speech, racism, peace and human rights.

He started off on a very personal note explaining that his identity (Jewish, gay) was not in line with the values promoted by the Polish media and the official stand of the current government, a blend that does not resound well among certain circles of Polish society and in the media. A Polish society that is not











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steering away from nationalistic sentiments and right-wing extremism. His claims were backed up by a collection of press headlines he had assembled from online mainstream media reporting on a rally organised on the occasion of the Polish Independence Day, called by many "the white supremacists’ rally organised by fascist sympathisers”. While the majority of people who took part in the march did not necessarily associate themselves with strong racist views, Mr Grzemny explained, they nevertheless decided to support this event that clearly displayed slogans that can easily be classified as chauvinist and racist.

Mr Grzemny then went on shedding light on what is currently going on in Poland, such as the encouragement of a political climate where people are encouraged to say in public things that were not acceptable before, including nazi-oriented discourses. According to Mr Grzemny, Poland is undergoing a crisis of identity, it bears the misunderstanding of the notion of patriotism, it is paying the price caused by the crisis of education that does not promote diversity and by the lack of alternatives and media propaganda.

Mr Grzemny pointed out that in Poland, being radical had become a part of identity, more precisely a part of being young. He also addressed the effects of a narrative that on the surface features appealing lines such as “I want to save the world; I want to make it a better place,” but deep down is pushing right-wing nationalism discourse inwards. The real, better place endorsed by this narrative was a world where everyone is Polish and white.

“I believe that being radical is a part of being young; we all have been radical once or many times towards our parents, school mates or in our political views. It is good to be radical, not only when you are young, as being radical is about bringing a change that is sometimes needed. History shows, especially the history of my country, that radical people and radical movements brought about the change that ended up with tearing down the iron curtain that had divided Europe for decades”

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People tended to think about radicalisation in terms of “what goes on before the bomb goes off", Mr Grzemny further explained. The bomb, however, did not always go off. This thinking did not take into account the root causes of radicalisation. Another issue he brought up and that tuned into the participants’ minds, referred to the correlation between Freedom vs Safety: Take, for example, the radical views on refugees and the actions that follow: Whilst on one side those who are against accepting refugees in Poland claim to do it to guarantee safety for all, the other side stresses the fact that putting measures against refugees limited their freedom. Safety often comes at a high price: less freedom and the potential use of force. These are very important elements to be taken into account when developing preventive measures in education against violent radicalisation of young people.

According to Mr Grzemny, education has a key role to play in preventing violent radicalisation. After recalling Article 26 from the Universal Declaration of Human Rights: “Education shall be directed to the full development of the human personality and to the strengthening of respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms. It shall promote understanding, tolerance and friendship among all nations, racial or religious groups, and shall further the activities of the United Nations for the maintenance of peace”, he stressed how education was a fantastic tool to transform people’s lives.

However, in order to do it right, one should always remember that education should:

► Start from what people already know, their opinions and experiences, and from this base enable them to search for, and discover together new ideas and experiences.

► Encourage the full participation of young people to contribute to the discussions and to learn from each other.► Encourage people to translate their learning into simple but effective actions that demonstrate their rejections of injustice, inequality and violations of human rights.► Be holistic and aim at developing people’s competences (knowledge, skills and attitudes).

As he saw violence coming towards him in different forms, he did not shy away from taking the matter in his own hands and gave a lot of thought to what he could do about it. Mr Grzemny also spread optimism, encouraging the audience to take action: “If you are really engaged with people, you will see change happen. It takes time, but it will happen”. Racism and islamophobia experienced by Ms Farkhanda Chaudhry led her to step up in community activism. The very fact that she was wearing a headscarf made her a visible target.

Farkhanda Chaudhry is the first Muslim female Justice of Peace in Scotland. She has been active in the voluntary sector for over 20 years and worked on a range of issues, including equalities, human rights, interfaith dialogue and community development.

“What is also observed is the fact that many youth organisations that do a good job in promoting and protecting human rights or fight racism and discrimination and therefore contribute to the prevention of violent radicalisation, do not want to be associated with the fight against violent radicalisation. Many think it is a new empty word that does not change their work and can often cause trouble – they are perceived as fighting against terrorism, while their mission is to work with all young people to create a culture of peace and human rights. So they do work against violent radicalisation, but they do not call it that way”.

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People tended to think about radicalisation in terms of “what goes on before the bomb goes off", Mr Grzemny further explained. The bomb, however, did not always go off. This thinking did not take into account the root causes of radicalisation. Another issue he brought up and that tuned into the participants’ minds, referred to the correlation between Freedom vs Safety: Take, for example, the radical views on refugees and the actions that follow: Whilst on one side those who are against accepting refugees in Poland claim to do it to guarantee safety for all, the other side stresses the fact that putting measures against refugees limited their freedom. Safety often comes at a high price: less freedom and the potential use of force. These are very important elements to be taken into account when developing preventive measures in education against violent radicalisation of young people.

According to Mr Grzemny, education has a key role to play in preventing violent radicalisation. After recalling Article 26 from the Universal Declaration of Human Rights: “Education shall be directed to the full development of the human personality and to the strengthening of respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms. It shall promote understanding, tolerance and friendship among all nations, racial or religious groups, and shall further the activities of the United Nations for the maintenance of peace”, he stressed how education was a fantastic tool to transform people’s lives.

However, in order to do it right, one should always remember that education should:

► Start from what people already know, their opinions and experiences, and from this base enable them to search for, and discover together new ideas and experiences.

► Encourage the full participation of young people to contribute to the discussions and to learn from each other.► Encourage people to translate their learning into simple but effective actions that demonstrate their rejections of injustice, inequality and violations of human rights.► Be holistic and aim at developing people’s competences (knowledge, skills and attitudes).

As he saw violence coming towards him in different forms, he did not shy away from taking the matter in his own hands and gave a lot of thought to what he could do about it. Mr Grzemny also spread optimism, encouraging the audience to take action: “If you are really engaged with people, you will see change happen. It takes time, but it will happen”. Racism and islamophobia experienced by Ms Farkhanda Chaudhry led her to step up in community activism. The very fact that she was wearing a headscarf made her a visible target.

Farkhanda Chaudhry is the first Muslim female Justice of Peace in Scotland. She has been active in the voluntary sector for over 20 years and worked on a range of issues, including equalities, human rights, interfaith dialogue and community development.

“As a Muslim woman of colour I am constantly challenged with this in my living experience. Growing up I became increasingly aware that as national and international incidents were unfolding, such as the first and second Iraq war, the genocide in Bosnia and terrorist attacks, this was about people like me. Following the September 11th murders in the Twin Towers, I remember that I was on a flight to attend a meeting in another city and I was asked to leave the flight. It was a highly embarrassing moment as I saw others on the flight looking at me suspiciously. Many of my close family members were attacked during this time and also subsequently”

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With regard to what attracts young people to radicalisation, Ms Chaudhry highlighted a number of factors, ranging from a way of dealing with perceived injustice, to a sense of community and belonging, a reaction to islamophobia and racism, and the preservation of “our way of life” perceived as a honourable thing to do. The sentiment of not feeling welcome in Europe definitely made the joining of the Islamic state very appealing. Messages distorted by Isis were powerful enough to influence young people as well.

Ms Chaudhry also pointed out that not all people go down the road of radicalisation and that the factors that may lead a young person towards radicalisation are complex and multi-faceted. Others could be taking a stance against a government’s ‘foreign policies’ and the experience of racism and islamophobia. Young people may feel that their identities and loyalties are being questioned because they come from ‘visible’ minorities or are Muslims. For example, police and security profiling are targeting these particular groups. Therefore those with a strong sense of justice may act through the need to be heroic or to act with bravery.

The presentation went further discussing some influencing factors. Amongst them, Ms Chaudhry pointed out the excessive politicising of Muslim women’s dress, a subject that in some countries is so important that it warrants discussion at the legislative level. Politicising the female Muslim way of dressing implies and promotes this kind of message: You can ‘belong’ if you conform to our version of the criteria to be part of the ’in-group’.

Yet, far right political parties are gaining grounds in mainstream spaces. This advancement gives licence to people to not only think in a certain way but to also behave towards the ‘other’ aggressively. For example, immediately after

the Brexit vote, the UK experienced an increase in racist and islamophobic hate speech towards eastern Europeans and ‘visible’ minorities.

Not only people in the UK are receiving these messages from government institutions; a lot of popular media reporting is sensationalised, often inaccurate/lazy reporting on all things ‘Muslim’, or stories of immigration linked to the notion that Europe is being swamped by people of colour and hiding amongst them are terrorists and sexual molesters. According to Ms Chaudhry, the media reporting was not well researched and played the sensational card and many narratives were taken to the extreme.

She also observed that in some countries there are no public spaces to explore religious identities.

Ms Chaudhry further acknowledged that young people are under a lot of pressure, negotiating relationships, identities, and cultures ¬ where do I fit in? So the personal story and psychology of each young person needs to be considered. We need, she argued, to also acknowledge that personal experiences and circumstances may influence the routes that are taken to deal with anger, frustration and disempowerment. These are the triggers that recruiters will tap into to give legitimacy to their purpose.

According to Deborah Erwin, violence is something we learn and not something we are born with. Deborah Erwin, a freelance consultant and trainer focusing on youth civic engagement, youth participation and training in non-formal education, comes from Northern Ireland, which has been the site of sustained conflict. Ms Erwin grew up against the backdrop of the conflict known as the ‘Troubles’ and saw just how destructive and divisive the political violence was. In her introductory remarks, she asserted that young people are often exploited but they are also agents of social change.

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With regard to what attracts young people to radicalisation, Ms Chaudhry highlighted a number of factors, ranging from a way of dealing with perceived injustice, to a sense of community and belonging, a reaction to islamophobia and racism, and the preservation of “our way of life” perceived as a honourable thing to do. The sentiment of not feeling welcome in Europe definitely made the joining of the Islamic state very appealing. Messages distorted by Isis were powerful enough to influence young people as well.

Ms Chaudhry also pointed out that not all people go down the road of radicalisation and that the factors that may lead a young person towards radicalisation are complex and multi-faceted. Others could be taking a stance against a government’s ‘foreign policies’ and the experience of racism and islamophobia. Young people may feel that their identities and loyalties are being questioned because they come from ‘visible’ minorities or are Muslims. For example, police and security profiling are targeting these particular groups. Therefore those with a strong sense of justice may act through the need to be heroic or to act with bravery.

The presentation went further discussing some influencing factors. Amongst them, Ms Chaudhry pointed out the excessive politicising of Muslim women’s dress, a subject that in some countries is so important that it warrants discussion at the legislative level. Politicising the female Muslim way of dressing implies and promotes this kind of message: You can ‘belong’ if you conform to our version of the criteria to be part of the ’in-group’.

Yet, far right political parties are gaining grounds in mainstream spaces. This advancement gives licence to people to not only think in a certain way but to also behave towards the ‘other’ aggressively. For example, immediately after

the Brexit vote, the UK experienced an increase in racist and islamophobic hate speech towards eastern Europeans and ‘visible’ minorities.

Not only people in the UK are receiving these messages from government institutions; a lot of popular media reporting is sensationalised, often inaccurate/lazy reporting on all things ‘Muslim’, or stories of immigration linked to the notion that Europe is being swamped by people of colour and hiding amongst them are terrorists and sexual molesters. According to Ms Chaudhry, the media reporting was not well researched and played the sensational card and many narratives were taken to the extreme.

She also observed that in some countries there are no public spaces to explore religious identities.

Ms Chaudhry further acknowledged that young people are under a lot of pressure, negotiating relationships, identities, and cultures ¬ where do I fit in? So the personal story and psychology of each young person needs to be considered. We need, she argued, to also acknowledge that personal experiences and circumstances may influence the routes that are taken to deal with anger, frustration and disempowerment. These are the triggers that recruiters will tap into to give legitimacy to their purpose.

According to Deborah Erwin, violence is something we learn and not something we are born with. Deborah Erwin, a freelance consultant and trainer focusing on youth civic engagement, youth participation and training in non-formal education, comes from Northern Ireland, which has been the site of sustained conflict. Ms Erwin grew up against the backdrop of the conflict known as the ‘Troubles’ and saw just how destructive and divisive the political violence was. In her introductory remarks, she asserted that young people are often exploited but they are also agents of social change.

“I think that we need to be mindful of the importance of spaces which allow young people to increase their critical thinking skills, to broaden their perspectives about their environments and to give them agency to act”

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5 - SALTO Cultural Diversity Resource Centre, 2016, Young People and Extremism: A Resource Pack for Youth Workers. https://www.salto-youth.net/rc/inclusion/inclusionpublications/youngpeopleandextremism/

















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As the presentation progressed, she highlighted the factors that increase the likelihood of participation in a campaign of violence. Based on research findings (Ferguson, Burgess & Hollywood, 2008), those reasons include the existence of a grievance or perceived injustice by a sub-group of the population; Age and gender (violent acts are generally committed by young males aged 15 to 25); Past family involvement with or support for the movement (promoting membership through historical connections within the family); Community support or high status associated with membership of the group; Incremental process towards membership (this process, according to the research, may start with relatively mundane behaviour such as spray painting, before progressing to destroying property and finally becoming involved in injuring and killing opponents); Vengeance as the individual’s motivation, feels a need to hit back and right wrongs; In group identification or with role models supporting an armed group; Witnessing violence against family/friends/wider group.

In addition to this list of reasons, the path towards violence can be expedited by other factors;“critical incidents” that precipitate a period of reflection in the potential new recruit; violence generates and begets more violence; segregation sustains the potential for further conflicts; conscious decisions/personal choice, because not everyone from an oppressed and/or victimised community engages in violence.

Referring to “Talking to the Enemy”, a book written by Scott Atran (2010), Deborah pointed out the importance of friendship in motivating young people to get involved in violent actions even to the point of death: “When you look at whom they idolize, how they organise, what binds them, and what drives them, then you see that what inspires the most lethal terrorist in the word today is not so much the Koran or the teachings of religion, as it is a thrilling cause and call to action that promises glory and esteem in the eyes of friends and through friends, eternal respect and remembrance in the wider world that they will never live to enjoy”.

With this reference, she went on to highlight what young people get out of involvement in violent extremist groups as explored in the SALTO resource, ‘Young People & Extremism'5: A sense of belonging, identity and acceptance; Security/safety; Status; Honour and responsibility; Legitimisation; A way out of poverty; A sense of empowerment & purpose; An opportunity to resolve injustices; An opportunity to ‘fight back’; Revenge; Utopian vision; A ‘buzz’.

According to Ms Erwin, young people fall in the hands of recruiters because they see young people as being easy to bring under control and consider them to be cheap, effective and obedient fighters. Addressing the preventing measures, she underlined actions such as contextual understanding, active citizenship approaches, the need to tackle inequalities and divisions, and support for protective factors.

Conclusions. What does this teach us? We need to understand how problematising young people intersects with their involvement in violence, challenge the ways in which violence becomes normalised, and following from the work of Arun Kundnani (in ‘The Muslims Are Coming: Islamophobia, Extremism & the Domestic War on Terror) consider what are the circumstances and narratives that make violence ‘legitimate’ for those who get involved in violent extremist movements.

Michaela Glaser, a researcher from the research unit on right-wing extremism and the prevention of radicalisation at the German Youth Institute, delivered a presentation addressing right-wing extremism and Islamist extremism from a biographical perspective.

According to her findings, in many cases involvement with extremism starts in early or late adolescence; In early involvement, ideology seldom plays a dominant role; Adolescents are particularly responsive to the promise of extremism, but views and social orientation are still very flexible. At this stage, the room for prevention is realistic. Getting involved with extremism is never the result of single factors on their own, instead this is always the result of an interaction of various aspects.

With regard to the vulnerability factors, they are multi-layered, resulting from different spheres and biographical phases. As recurrent aspects, Ms Glaser mentioned adverse childhood experiences, social role models, emotional stress, deficient social and structural integration and lacking recognition. As noted, the diversity and high number of potential vulnerability¬causing constellations does not allow creating profiles or “check lists”.

Among other conclusions she drew on the functionality of extremist offers, Ms Glaser outlined that young people’s turning towards extremism was not a mere result of manipulation efforts. As an attempt to cope with difficult experiences and adolescent challenges it makes sense and is of functional use for them.

Ms Glaser further explained that not all young people expressing interests in extremist views and groups are embarking on a straight-line pathway leading into violent extremism. The processes of involvement might move back and forth and there are possible junctions and turning points at different times within this process.

This holds especially true for young people, whose views and group orientations are not as substantiated and consolidated as they are at a later age – and whose period of life is characterised by a specific openness – which also includes trying out different ways of living, different world views and group orientations sometimes only for the means of provocation ¬ and quitting them again. We therefore have to refrain, she advised, from falling into the trap of stigmatising and avoid counterproductive effects.

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Why were these presentations relevant? ► Participants gained an understanding of what kind of influencing factors can lead young people towards (violent) radicalisation.

► Even if all these factors are present in a young person’s life, this doesn’t automatically lead to radicalisation. But, when working on the prevention of radicalisation, it is important to take those factors into consideration.

► Participants understand the importance of prevention work in the current context of Europe.

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As he grew up, he found himself confused. His life was in fact in a deadlock: He was not in a position to pursue his aspirations, to dream big, to plan long term. At the age of 15, he turned to drugs and started to embrace the appeal of radical languages and ideas. He was not acting in a violent way, however, he was singing songs featuring hate messages, wearing and exposing disruptive symbols.

His mind-set was tuned into negative thoughts and resentments. It was a normal trajectory in that context. 99% of other young people went through the same process. It was part of everyone’s identity.

His life, though, was about to take a new unexpected turn. He spotted a poster in school announcing a project (by PRONI/Brčko) that offered $100 for participation, for attending non-formal education in the mornings and school in the afternoons for 3 months. It was like a thunderbolt. He decided to join it for the money. It was a classical non-formal education course, involving human rights education, personal development, games, writing a CV etc. His family and community were sceptical about joining non-formal education, considering it “something like a sect”, a “betrayer of the nation”, “under the influence of Europe and the U.S.” There was strong nationalism among people in the local community.

It turned out his inner circles of “advisors” were wrong. Participation in the course changed his outlook on life. “I was not aware of it, that I was pulled out of a risky situation. You cannot tell what situation people are in, people sometimes tell us later”, he recalled.

Joining that context was an eye-opening experience that led him to find the best of his inner resources and use them for the good of society. His mind was set on a new course and mission: Supporting young people to steer away from radicalisation.

Along with other young people, he created CAT (Citizens against radicalisation). It is a project run by students united in their efforts to combat extremism. Its mission was to raise the awareness of the danger of radicalisation and terrorism. It was inspired by research findings assessing that Bosnia and Herzegovina had become a target for national and global

Workshops held by the same experts: prevention of violent

radicalisation in action________________________________________________________________

The objectives of this session were to further explore different approaches to preventing violent radicalisation and to discuss with participants how they can use those approaches in their daily work.

Fakhanda Chaudhry: Interfaith and interreligious dialogue

Ms Chaudhry has been working on interfaith dialogue for many years. She uses methods to make sure that the sessions turn out to be true dialogues and not debates or just small talk. In this workshop, she invited the participants to choose one of several notes with common sayings on them and share this saying with one other participant. Then, each participant was invited to share with another person the following question: When did you decide that there was a God or Goddess in your life, or that there was no such thing?

The workshop proceeded with a round of discussions, mainly about religion and LGBTQI issues, that emphasised common features of successful interfaith dialogue, ranging from being open to diversity, the use of non-violent communication, and active listening to being free of judgement.

Michaela Glasner: Social work approaches with young people at risk or those already involved with extremist work views and groups

Ms Glaser started off outlining some crucial principles and contents of work with young people – crucial with reference to research findings on young peoples’ motives and reasons for getting involved with as well as for distancing themselves from extremism.

The range of target groups in this field reaches from young people who are regarded as carrying no specific risk for becoming involved with extremism, to young people that are regarded as being ¬ more or less – “at risk” of becoming involved and it also includes young people who have already established

Exploring good practices: five workshops introducing inspi-

ring practices presented in the research (mapping exercise)

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Veronique de Leener (Belgium), certified coach, founder and Director or Maks vzw.: How to use digital storytelling as a pathway to encountering radicalisation

Topic overviewWorking with youngsters from the 3rd or 4th generation about their roots, identity, working on the way ISIS recruits through social media, and making a digital story to express their own point of view.

AimShow participants that digital storytelling is a useful methodology to help youngsters to analyse this societal issue and express their own meaning and perspective in a personal digital narrative.

Context Veronique De Leener is the founder and director of Maks vzw, an NGO that runs all kinds of activities in the field of digital inclusion with disadvantaged persons of all ages. She is also a resident of Brussels, the Belgian capital that was hit by terrorist attacks in March 2016. That tragic event shed a light on the attack, the perpetrators’ cultural identity and on the neighbourhoods they grew up in, an area of Brussels known as Molenbeek. Around 170 different nationalities live there. Fifty per cent of the residents live in poverty, and 30 per cent are unemployed.

Main discussion pointsIn her workshop, Ms De Leener recounted the findings of a project organised with youngsters from 16 and older in five different schools in Brussels after the bomb attack. It was a 12 to 20 hour-long project. Each session began wit h discussing some topics. As everyone sat down in a circle, each of the

extremist ideological orientations and/or already became involved in extremist groups – young people who either want to leave extremism behind them or whom others want to do so (e.g. their relatives or security authorities).

Becoming involved with extremism is a gradual process, with no clear divisions between different grades and with possble movements back and forth.

The target groups mentioned by Ms Glaser are exposed to extremist risks and involved with extremism to very different degrees. They therefore have different needs for support that require different degrees of specialisation.

As the presentation ended, Ms Glaser engaged participants in a discussion about the implementation of social work approaches in youth work. The discussions concluded with the following inputs and recommendations:

► Values of social work approaches for youth work: Self-esteem and searching for talents; self-confidence; youth workers enjoy more freedom than teachers; emotional intelligence, dynamics of group work.

► Advice for youth work: Importance of cooperation with other stakeholders (Institutions, schools, police etc.); building trustful relationships; approaching religion/ideology issues based on a careful and individually contextualized approach; considering systematic approaches (family and peer involvement).

► Challenges for youth work: Stigmatisation of social work; getting financial resources; acceptance from the target group; motivation; lack of knowledge of methods and a theoretical framework; dropping out of the programme.

► Actions to take: Cooperation with social media and internet players; promoting education and awareness about existing alternatives such as non-violent video games; organisation of sessions designed to better understand concepts and features about religions and cultures; viral campaigns using innovative and attractive tools to get media attention.

Darek Grzemny: Human rights education and its role in dealing with violent radicalisation. Presentation of practices in this field

The workshop started with an exercise in which participants were divided into smaller groups. First individually, and then within their groups they had to

decide whether they agreed or disagreed with twelve statements (all of them related to the topic of human rights).

At the end, the results were compared with the other groups. It turned out that only 5 out of 12 sentences did not raise any controversy and all of the groups achieved the same results. Regarding the remaining statements, each group gave different answers or they did not manage to come to common agreements at all.

The aim of the exercise was to exchange opinions, beliefs and values among participants. They learned to listen to each other, discuss and negotiate. They also learned that it is not always possible to come to a common agreement, especially when values are discussed. In fact, people need to learn how to let it go.

As this exercise carries the risk of creating a conflict in a group, it is advised that youth workers give participants a lot of time for discussion afterwards, during which they should get the chance to explain their choices and, if needed, express any frustrations they may have.

It was underlined how important it is that we only use with participants words they understand. Therefore, we need to be careful when working with very young people. We do not explain to them what words mean, neither do we give them definitions. We also do not correct them – however, it is good if they correct each other. When you work with young people, you need to watch your words, be careful what language you use. It is important to become a “role model” for them.

Human Rights Education (HRE) is a valuable method when dealing with violent radicalisation. Importantly, you need to make sure that you create a safe space in which everyone feels comfortable to talk openly. The aim is to develop the participants’ empathy and challenge discrimination. It is noteworthy to acknowledge that HRE is not only an abstract idea and that it can be used in practice. We should be careful when difficult topics emerge, like female mutilation or honour killing. It should be explained to participants that not every behaviour is right and tolerable, even if it is deeply rooted in some cultures.

Education only works at the level of prevention. Therefore it is important to work with those individuals who are not radicalised. If they have already reached this level, education is no longer valuable. Some other techniques need to be applied.

Emotions: they are important in working with youths. If youth work does not raise any emotions, it is ineffective.

Session outcomes: Participants agreed that HRE is a good tool in youth work, especially on the topic of violent radicalisation and extremism, and many of them confirmed that they would employ the techniques they learned in their own work.

Debora Erwin: Preventing Violent Extremism - Political and Civic Education

Main objective of the workshopTo explore further different approaches related to preventing violent radicalisation and to discuss with participants how they can use those approaches in their daily work

Main discussion points

► Civic education as young people centred

► Understanding the context

► Discussing active citizenship approaches – civic youth work

► The framework of Civic Education was applied to the Resource Pack created by SALTO Cultural Diversity

► The approach was one of orientation rather than curriculum or programme

► The young people themselves produced the curriculum

How we see young people matters – deficient or competent? Current education takes a view of young people as deficient i.e. as ‘empty vessels’ where the role of education is to install knowledge. This approach closes the options for meaningful work.

We can view young people in ‘capacity terms’, giving young people the opportunity to give their perspective as ‘co-creators’, where they feel equal and which can consequently produce more significant work. This approach is risky, hard, and requires long-term commitment.

Action Research

► The key is to build practice and young people to figure out what’s important to them

► It’s about broadly engaging with young people to bring about change i.e.

► Support young people to lobby and campaign

► Support young people to challenge the status quo/dominant narratives

► Support young people to attend community meetings

► Support young people to talk to decision makers

Civic Youth Work

► Asset based – embracing young people’s capacity to be initiators and agents of social change

► Citizen now’ approach

► Work with young people that supports them through group work processes that address issues of public concern

► Starts with where young people are, promoting democracy as a value

► Involves young people as ‘co-creators’ e.g. shaping school rules

► An example was cited of #stopattacks – dealing with issues in Northern Ireland

Outcomes of sessionsHow are Youth Workers different to extremist Youth Workers?

► They should not promote violence

► Their work should not be manipulative

► They should promote critical thinking

► They should empower young people to become independent and not dependent

How might an asset-based approach be beneficial?

► Recruit people from different nationalities

► Promote peer to peer approaches

► Accept young people as present – give them the floor

Alternative pathways to violence by youth workers

► Young people to engage in civil youth work in groups

► Sometimes it helps to declare your biases rather than to stay neutral e.g. people should declare their faith when working with other faith groups

participants told a story while everyone else was encouraged to give feedback that was not meant to be judgmental. The underlying goal was to give comments to improve the storytelling narrative, to make the story better.

At this point, the students were also taught some technical audio-video editing requirements and were educated about the importance of copyrighted material available online.

Session outcomes: Why are digital stories valuable for the prevention of radicalisation?

► When we tell stories about something that happened in our lives, we are basically producing a sort of life’s review. A life’s review is something that helps us build our identity;

► The emotional part is one of the most captivating characteristics of digital storytelling. Stories create a potential for emotional intelligence, as you understand the feelings of other people;

► Digital storytelling is acknowledged as a method of facilitating empowerment and creativity.

► The digital world is growing every day and the language of stories does not require reading literacy, you just listen and watch;

► By following digital stories people learn and develop different competences;

► When digital tools are employed in the classroom, students remember better what they have been taught;

► It links the head to the heart;

► It stimulates dialogue;

► It helps youngsters not to consider themselves second-class citizens anymore;

► When making a movie or story, people meet other people and hear their stories;

► Making digital stories is a group process that entails people communicating with each other.

The value of storytelling from a psychological point of view lies in the way it builds an identity; it stimulates an analysis of experience and problem solving; it makes your voice heard; it helps to develop self-confidence. In a group presentation for example, the story is presented in the group, the group asks for details, if needed, the group gives feedback and the storyteller is asked to think about the solutions in a difficult situation.

EXTRA: Ms De Leener acknowledged the existence of a gap of second degree: People with high skills use computers to move on with their lives while low-skilled people use computers for entertainment only. The gap is widening.

Dejan Rađen (Bosnia and Herzegovina), PRONI, Youth work manager: Citizens Against Terrorism

BackgroundDejan was born in February 1995 at the end of the war in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Conflicts, extremism and violence marked Dejan’s upbringing.

ObjectivesThe main objective of the session was to present the project CAT – Citizens Against Terrorism, on the background of understanding the history and social-political context of life in Bosnia and Herzegovina as well as Dejan’s personal history of getting involved with youth work, non-formal learning and the project.

Main points of the presentationDajan’s story is remarkable. It is a must-tell/must-share good practice that can inspire and give hope. It is also a reminder that the course of life can take unexpected turns under the most complex and tragic situations a young person has to endure, like being born just at the end of a war that shook his country and in the middle of ethnically-based wars and insurgencies fought from 1991 to 1999/2001 in former Yugoslavia.

The conflict deprived Dejan of a normal and light-hearted childhood. Throughout his upbringing he was exposed to all kinds of violence and extremist acts. There was no security, no hope and no stability. The first sign of what the future was reserving for him burst into Dejan’s life when Dejan and his family were forced to leave their home and start over again in a different city called Brčko. He was just five years old. He grew up mainly within his own ethnic group.

extremist recruitment efforts, due to the recent historical and political conflicts, as well as high unemployment rates among the youth. It is a quite a small project, financed by local financial resources from three cantons in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

The project involved several actions, such as a media campaign, also street actions, public events, signing a petition (almost 500 signatures so far), volleyball tournaments etc.

This small establishment was set on receiving great praise but also faced harsh challenges. The organisers were accused of American propaganda, and there was pressure from political parties, and from the community to be on their side. They were not prepared to react to the hate comments they received, so they decided not to react at all.

As its main strengths, they identified the attractive name of the project, that fact that three communities from BiH got involved, funding support, getting 50,000 people engaged on Facebook, 350,000 likes…! The project’s success exceeded their expectations. According to Dejan, the greatest result was that the media promoted the campaign.

As Dejan and his organisation are committed to widening their scope of positive influence and impact, among the current priorities and interests they included the following needs:

► Training for trainers in conflict resolution.

► There is no law in BiH that forbids the foundation of organisations with hate propaganda in their name. They aim to prevent this.

► Initiate efforts to fight online hate speech; today no mechanisms exist for this.

► Involve other cities in the future – until today only multi-ethnic cities have got involved. Try to reach out to others.

► It’s hard to bring young people to the youth clubs and youth centre. Therefore, they are trying to reach them online.

► Idea to film that there are a lot of positive things happening, great people, positive stories, not just bad things.

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Exploring more good practices: six workshops introducingparticipants’ experiences

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AIM: Sharing practical experiences of participants on the topic.

Elena Frau (Italy, Association NEA): Seven words for Intercultural understanding, integration and diversity

The session was 100% interactive. Each participant had to list 7 words representing the concept of radicalisation. Then, the participants were asked to cross their list of words with the words chosen by the person sitting next to them, seeking matching words. The same exercise was repeated between 2 big groups. As a final list with seven words (ideology, revolutionary, discrimination, identity, manipulation, attack, process) that matched each group’s choices of words was fashioned, the two groups were tasked with taking pictures of objects that would embody the meaning of these words.

The overall aim was to understand that agreements can be reached without giving up on one’s own ideas, accepting other people’s ideas when their arguments are convincing.

Johanne Kalsaas (Red Cross Norway): Street Mediation

Main objectiveIntroducing the street mediation programme by Red Cross Norway and their approach to conflict mediation. The aim of this programme is to empower youths by giving them tools to manage interpersonal conflicts constructively without the use of violence.

Main discussion pointsYoung people are best placed to manage tensions that arise in their own environments. The young are there when conflicts happen, adults usually get involved when conflicts have already gone too far.

































The programme involves youths between 13 and 25. The programme involves generic preventative work, to build capacities and resilience. It also targets the youths at risk, either exposed to a violent environment or exposed to conflicts.

The method:► Create safe spaces for young people to express themselves and build a positive identity around challenging experiences.► Interactive and participatory methodology.► Empower and strengthen the personal resilience of youths to deal with adversity and conflicts.► Use role-plays, games and reflective dialogues to generate learning, self-awareness, attitude and behavioural change.

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Step 1: conflict workshop – this is where we have a broad impact, training in basic conflict awareness and non-violent communication.

Step 2: mediation workshop – conflict mediation, how to be an impartial mediator, how to mitigate conflict between parties without being a part of the conflict. This involves a lot of communication training. After completing this step, the young people are certified street mediators.

Step 3: instructor step – the young people become leaders, they can conduct training and informal mediation.

Duration: Each session lasts for 2/3 hours, over 6 to 8 weeks.

Approach: Violence prevention, mitigation of conflict

Procedures: Through the workshops the participants …

► Share their own experiences with conflict and learn from each other;

► Get a greater understanding of the dynamic of conflict – how conflicts escalate and deescalate;► Increase their consciousness about the feelings and reactions that are

involved in conflicts;

► Gain skills in non-violent communication and conflict mediation;

► Are empowered as role models and mediators;

► Acquire skills to teach other youths about constructive conflict management.

Oleksandr Formichov (Ukraine, Charitable Fund, League of Tolerance): Play for human rights

Main objectiveReflect on how sports can be used in youth work and in the prevention of violent radicalisation

Main discussion pointsThis was an interactive workshop, during which participants experienced different exercises based on team work.

It started with a discussion about how an ideal youth worker profile should look, what competences, skills and attitudes he/she should have. Participants were asked to make posters where they listed: empathy, openness, readiness to help and take care of others, ability to build trust and communicate easily with young people, but also entrepreneurship skills exploitable to raise funds and manage projects.

In the second part of the workshop, the participants were divided into groups and had to suggest projects/activities related to sports that would help to solve the following problems:1) Bullying of pupils of Roma origin at school (via Facebook posts)2) Integrate a group of refugees into the local community by organising a local festival3) Integrate new pupils from China into a sports teamAfterwards the proposed activities were presented and discussed. The workshop leader wanted to show that sports can be a useful tool to learn about human rights: It requires team work, inclusion, compassion, overcoming difficulties, and helping each other in order in order to reach common goals. It helps to avoid complicated notions that may not be understood by young people. Sport also requires testing the gained skills immediately in practice.

Jessica Walker (ERYICA): Liaisons, prevention of youth violent extremism. Manual for youth workers6

BackgroundThe French-speaking members of ERYICA (European Youth Information and Counselling Agency) came together in November 2015 to work on a common topic. They chose the prevention of youth violent extremism, and they have since been working on the creation of a manual, bringing in experts from three different countries.

Main objectives of the workshopTo familiarise participants with the manual Liaisons – Guidebook for the prevention of youth’s violent extremism through youth information, looking at both the theoretical and practical sides of the manual.

To offer the participants the chance to look in detail at the content of the manual and exchange their expertise on this topic.

Main discussion pointsDefinition of the concepts and the consequences related to activism and extremismDefinition of primary preventionA test on how conflicts are the result of bad communication

Sessions’ outcomesThe role of ERYICA, role of primary prevention, a general idea about the manual. Debriefing, feedback, possibility to use the manual in the participants’ own context.

Francesc Reales (Spain): Exploring different approaches to prevent youth radicalisation

IntroductionFrancesc worked with a project in Catalonia called RADEPRO that fostered cooperation between the education sector, youth workers and the police. It attained good results, especially related to police training and working with individuals in the education sector.

ContextThe RADEPRO project was initiated based on experience from previous cooperation between the Ministry of the Interior and the Education Department. The core idea was to spread knowledge from the police to teachers and others working directly with young people.

Teachers may be good, but they are not trained to detect signs of radicalisation in their students. Therefore, a special unit was set up with the purpose of offering teachers some basic knowledge regarding the radicalisation process and to evaluate if students were showing any signs of radicalisation, emphasising that teachers must look at the context of the student and that there are no “sure signs”. RADEPRO works short, long and medium-term. Short-term with security, medium-term with prevention and long-term with de-radicalisation measures.

RADEPRO Scope of actionsPrimary schools and secondary educational centres (obligatory and post-obligatory)

RADEPRO AimsContribute to co-existence in educational centres. Prevent violent actions and contribute to the public security of Catalonia.

MissionPrevention and detection of, and intervention into radicalisation processes that take place in educational centres.

ObjectivesProviding educational centres with orientation and resources to prevent the behaviours of radicalisation; training educational centres in the recognition of, and educational intervention to Islamic radicalisation processes; facilitating and promoting contact between educational centres and the police;

establishing the mechanisms and procedures for assessing possible cases of radicalisation and the transmission of the relevant information.

How it worksAn educational centre detects a case, for example, a change in behaviour. It contacts the board of directors of the school, then they collect info, interview the family and friends. If the collected data leads to the conclusion that the student may be in a process of violent radicalisation, they transfer the case to the community police. The police have an assessment board, they contact a specialised unit and gather information.

Franscesc stressed that fulfilling one indicator does not mean that the student is radicalised. However, the accumulation of several factors could indicate that they are indeed undergoing a radicalisation process. Judit Lantai (Hungary, ECYC): Dynamic map: where does your practice stand for the prevention on violent extremism?

Background: In 2017, ECYC (European Confederation of Youth Clubs) was supported by the Council of Europe through a European Youth Foundation grant to carry out a work plan on the role of youth work in the prevention of violent extremism. The plan consisted of three main actions: an online information campaign, an international training event, and a youth policy working group. During the process, a practical tool, the “dynamic map”, was created aiming at supporting youth workers in the development of European level cooperation, which enabled the conference participants to learn more about the workshops they attended.

Aim: To help youth workers and other youth professionals to analyse and position their own practice in relation to the prevention of violent extremism with the help of a practical tool, and offer a framework that helps forming European level cooperation for prevention.

The dynamic map: Within the field of youth work, there is a rising demand for frameworks that youth workers can use for organising and guidance of projects dealing with the prevention of young people’s violent radicalisation. There is indeed a great need to be able to appropriately compare different national and local realities and create practices together at the European level.The dynamic map takes into account the local context of the various aspects of youth work that proved to be relevant for the prevention of violent extremism. Youth workers can use this map both as a self-reflection tool to see where their practice/activity/project/etc. stands in relation to these aspects, as

well as an instrument to guide the designing and planning processes when setting up a new youth work project dealing with the prevention of violent radicalisation.

The map is called dynamic, because first and foremost the creators of the map believe that there is no perfect recipe for developing a youth work practice dealing with the prevention of violent radicalisation. Rather, there are ingredients, the right amount of which may vary according to different practices and needs. On the map, the scales belonging to these aspects are offering a thorough matrix and allow the youth worker to analyse or plan which end of the scale their practice is/will be closer to.

To find out more and access the map, use this link: https://www.ecyc.org/sites/default/files/resource/youthworkdynamicmap.pdf


► Presentation of the project implemented in 2017

► The dynamic map can be used by any youth organisation to analyse how much their activities are related to the prevention of violent extremism, or radicalisation, and to think about which areas of the practices should be developed further.

► Participants were invited to work in pairs helping each other to fill in the dynamic map that concerned the activities they were implementing.

► Group discussion to collect feedback about the dynamic map: Why and how can the dynamic map be useful? The participants of the workshop responded, saying that the map was a useful tool for self-reflection, its value becoming more visible when you start to reflect and share your thoughts.

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Dave Stewart (U.K.), Meta Coaching and Teen Coaching: Matrix and Challenge cards

Main objective of the workshopTo train participants to use the Matrix and Challenge cards.

BackgroundMATRIX Cards have been specifically developed to help practitioners fully engage and explore key issues with young people around the prevent agenda. The cards use Islamic imagery to enable young people to discuss their own beliefs and values. This can help them to share the different meanings relevant to their lives. The Matrix Cards raise the awareness of issues young people are facing in their lives and build resilience in individuals and communities.

The one day training offers practical training in twelve different ways of using the cards. The Matrix card handbook also includes a Self-actualisation grid to identify the drivers behind their thinking.

Main discussion points 15 cards with questions on one side and one image plus a word on the other side. Words include: people, beliefs, power, injustice, relationships, learning, change, barriers etc.

Cards allow to talk about deep convictions and things important in one’s life. They are a useful tool for young people to assess their situation and set up goals in their lives.

What is important is to have a good planning process in relation to coaching young people after a discussion on the basis of the cards.

Outcomes of sessions: Participants appreciated the learning from this project. Some were interested to adapt some of its elements to their context. Some intended to ask Dave for more information and more packs of cards!

































Kemal Yaldizli (Norway), Youth against Violence, Academic Director and Deputy General Manager: Collaboration and impact on different levels of society for the prevention of radicalisation

BackgroundKemal Yaldizli is a former policeman who, after having worked with young people who were going through a radicalisation process, decided to apply his work experience in the youth work field. He has over 15 years of experience in preventive work with young people at risk. The topic of radicalisation has been one of several focuses in his work, especially since 2011. He has been involved in several working groups set up by the government. His work is aimed at pupils in junior high school and high school in cooperation with schools and police and has achieved satisfying results.

Main discussion points of the workshopKemal presented and outlined the prevention plan developed in the city of Oslo, a plan that brings together all the different actors in the municipality and coordinates tasks in more integrated way: from youth to civil society organisations including institutions along with police and others.

Kemal highlighted how the youth worker shares several direct links with the youth, understands and relates to young people’s language, does not commit the mistake of judging them, and respects their opinions. As a matter if fact, the youth worker offers counter-narratives and employs useful and careful methods to challenge their opinions. These opinions are often the fruit of propaganda: They fall short of substance and their arguments are without any basis.

The role of the prevention carries the major weight. The professionals involved in the plan strive to get in touch with the youth that are normally at the side-lines of society; they try to elaborate a map that assembles what they think and estimate what measures they can employ to help them. Youth workers should be encouraged to provide alternative models and new arguments.

Funding is limiting the scope of the plan. They don’t work on a “de-radicalisation” process as this requires a set of competencies that they don’t have. The problems are so complex and big that everybody should intervene in a specific field of work.

Suha Ayyash (Jordan): Prevention of violent extremism - a grassroots approach from Jordan

Background informationSuha works for the Jordanian organisation I-DARE (http://i-dare.org), which is a non-for-profit & non-governmental Jordanian organisation founded four years ago. The core of I-Dare activities is based on social marketing (positive community change behaviour). I-Dare aims at preventing bad things from happening, preventing violent extremism, preventing hate speech. I-Dare carries out various activities and projects across the country and online.

Workshop main takeawaysSuha offered an overview of the different projects her organisation is involved with while guiding the attendees through the websites, the videos on You Tube and Facebook groups. The projects she highlighted are:

“The Alternative Narratives Knowledge Hub” (http://www.idareact.org/). This project implements youth awareness campaigns mainly through a special online platform. The overall aim is to counter current paradigms which rely on intellectually wrong assumptions and perpetuated stereotypes, which increase the risks of extremism, hate and violence and constitute obstacles to intercultural dialogue. Research of I-Dare shows that many young people are influenced by online videos/Facebook/YouTube in a negative way. Therefore, I-Dare took a course of action meant to create alternative narratives.

“Youth agency”. This project implements online campaigns:► 100 questions on violence (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eHY9_iDW00Y&list=PL7NY8MZB0ra3iypsU0PVUWBRBzUWbc72P )► Online Love Speech (https://www.facebook.com/OLSJo1/)► Shabab 2250 (https://www.facebook.com/Shabab2250/)

“Prevention of violent extremism. City of Martyrs”. This project was implemented in Assalt city, near Amman. As indoctrination is on the rise, many young men left the city to fight in Syria. Most of them were recruited within the environs of the university.

InsightsThe work of I-Dare in Assalt city and in Jordan in general focuses on research, youth awareness campaigns, social media and activities which aim at strengthening critical thinking and young people’s empowerment.The ultimate goal is to prevent them from being indoctrinated.

Critical thinking. Young people should decide for themselves. I-Dare wouldn’t tell young people what (not) to do or whom (not) to speak with. The organisation tries to strengthen them so that they can change their behaviour without feeling pressured and decide themselves whether or not they will follow the path leading to violent radicalisation.

As revealed by the I-Dare experiences, it emerges that video making affects young people in a positive way; they get new competences, a new set of skills, they participate in group discussions, they get involved, they collaborate.

The research of I-Dare shows that young people at the age of 13-15 are being radicalised and that they are already around 20 when they leave for Syria. Therefore, youth work now starts to work with the very young ones (at around 13 years old) to prevent radicalisation.

At the moment, Jordan doesn’t allow young men who left to fight in Syria to come back to Jordan.

The recruiter is usually a student, just a normal guy, who finds out who is vulnerable. I-Dare reaches out through TV, local people, word of mouth, visits in communities.



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What do we still want to discuss before the end of the conference?

Working groups on topics suggested by participants

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Looking at the future: Risks and limitations related to the prevention of violent radicalisation

This group session focused on understanding what youth workers can or should do in PVR considerating the risks and limitations they might be facing.

First of all, participants identified some of the challenges youth workers are facing. These include the fact that young people that are likely to be recruited by radical/criminal groups are often not involved in youth work.

Participants also feared that it could be dangerous for youth workers to get involved with the problems these young people are facing and wondered, if establishing some sort of cooperation with security agencies like the police would be a wise option.

A limiting factor that stood out from the discussion refers to competence: Not every youth worker is equipped with the required competences ranging from knowledge in sociology, law or security issues, communication, or the ability to adequately deal with intercultural issues. Making inroads as a PVR professional requires a portfolio of competences and skills that have to be constantly strengthened and sharpened.

Consideration of the context/Multi-sectorial approach

The discussion aimed at recognising how the perception of violent radicalisation depends on various contexts. It mostly focused on the role of the media in creating and promoting negative pictures of Islam (but not only) fuelling the radicalisation process of society.

The mass media are profit-oriented organisations and seem to take no responsibility neither for the tensions they raise nor the hate speech they are

feeding. Youth is specifically prone to this kind of negative messages. In an ideal society, it was said, governments should have the upper hand on controlling the media, not allowing untruths or harmful content to reach mass audiences. However, according to the inputs that emerged in the discussion, all too often governments and political parties benefit from raising the level of radicalisation among the members of some communities or at least from raising the perception of a credible looming threat.

Participants also pointed the finger towards international institutions, especially the EU, blaming them for not being effective in confronting negative processes, in particular countries (e.g. Hungary). NGOs, on the other hand, can expose radical thinking and name things as they are. Grassroots work, although slow and with a limited scope, has the biggest chances to succeed.

Even though violent radicalisation is a new topic, many youth workers struggle to deal with it due to a lack of know-how and a lack of support from governments. As a consequence, they turn to networking (internationally), exchanging resources and knowledge and building platforms for cooperation.

Schools are important players that are in principle equipped to deal with PVR. But PVR related programmes are rarely presented in class, and both school teachers and directors are reluctant to include them as part of the educational curriculum.

Ethics, confidentiality and safety

Is working with the police advisable? This question sparked the conversation among the participants who shared their own experiences and views.

Expert Veronique De Leener shared her case of working as an organisation in a neighbourhood in Belgium where the police would not venture. In this neighbourhood, there is zero tolerance towards the police. If she worked with the police, the young people would distrust her.

Also in other parts of Europe, police involvement is challenging. In Germany, young asylum seekers distrust police officers, they feel almost criminalised when they are crossing paths with the police.

In Kosovo, street social workers do not cooperate with police. In Liverpool, U.K., there is a multi-agency approach: schools, for example, report to the police only what is considered a “risk of significant harm”, and young people are informed by the youth workers that what they are saying might be reported to the police. There is also a high level of legal guidance for professionals and training.

In Hungary, the perception of the police is negative and associated with violence. In Norway, there is confidence and trust among different actors, there are clear guidelines on what young people can talk about and what can be reported to the police; there are also clear guidelines for professionals regarding which section of the police they need to call upon according to the type of incident. In France, social workers need to report to the police, if people say something against the law.

The group concluded that police attire (uniforms, guns) may increase young people’s distrust. The group agreed that training and trust building efforts among relevant community players must be improved and expanded.

Funding and support offered by European institutions and programmes (3 working groups)

► Erasmus+: Youth in Action

► Erasmus+: Youth in Action ¬ Possibilities for cooperation with Erasmus+ Neighbouring Partner Countries

► European Commission – Council of Europe Youth Partnership, Council of Europe/European Youth Foundation

The programmes were introduced within 3 separate working groups. They offer support (support activities and financial support) for European youth projects, which could be useful for participants in the framework of projects dealing with the topic of young people’s radicalisation leading to violence.

Relevant websites for up-to-date information are listed in the annex ‘Selected resources’.

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Academia Morning: four research-based perspectives and

projects targeting young people’s violent radicalisation

Soso Dolidze (Georgia, Association "Psychologists for Justice"): Georgian prison criminal subculture and its Influence on (especially juvenile) prisoners

Background/ContextDespite more than 70 years of fighting against the Georgian post-Soviet criminal subculture, the influence of this subculture is still strong in Georgian prisons

Main objectives of the workshopThe workshops feature the presentation of a study made for a Master’s thesis. Its author works in the NGO “Psychologists for the Future” and at the Centre for Crime Prevention. The study was based on interviews with former prisoners (aged 30+) and direct observations.

Main takeawaysThe rules of the criminal subculture work as psychological defence mechanisms for prisoners. The prison subculture cuts across and applies to every inmate in the Georgian jails. According to the prisoners, this system helps to bring some kind of order inside the prisons. For instance, rules are very clear, duties and responsibilities are carried out without delay and everyone is aware of their own place. Each inmate occupies a place in the hierarchical ladder. Their standing depends on criminal experience, type of crimes committed (rapists, paedophiles and homosexual prisoners are at the very bottom of the hierarchy), knowledge of the rules and personal assets. So-called political prisoners (ex-politicians etc.) do not join the subculture.

S. Dolidze mentioned that similar subcultures exist in Russia and Armenia; and perhaps in some other post-soviet countries as well. The prison subculture is also present in juvenile detention centres.



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The expert listed the following factors as reasons that influence youths to join this subculture:

► searching for authority/role models

► a social gap

► personal problems, the need to adjust and be accepted In Georgia there are several programmes for juvenile criminals. Generally, young people who committed their first crime are not put in prison. Efforts are rather spent on trying various methods of resocialisation. It may be interesting that in Georgia there are no female juvenile prisons/detention centres. It was not explained why, but one may guess that young women in Georgia are much less prone to commit crimes.

Arife Muji (Kosovar Centre for Security Studies): Reintegration and de-radicalisation programmes for radicalised persons. What approach is best for Kosovo?

Background/contextIn March 2015, Kosovo’s Parliament adopted a draft law on the “Prohibition of Joining Armed Conflicts outside the State Territory” as a reaction to the relatively high number of Kosovars that have joined the conflict zones in the Middle East. There are a significant number of people who were recruited by violent extremist supporters as foreign fighters who participated at least once in the conflicts in Syria and Iraq, predominantly during 2012 and 2013.Main findings

► According to the law on Execution Penal Sanctions in Kosovo, sanctioned persons should go through a process of rehabilitation before re-entering society. The reintegration as such is not a policy preference, but a legal obligation for the Kosovo Government;

► Similar to other countries in the region, Kosovo lacks capacities in designing and implementing re-socialisation and reintegration programmes within the correctional services;

► As of 2016, the Kosovo Government initiated a process of designing the programme on de-radicalisation and reintegration. Its implementation is expected to start in late 2017;

► The research indicates that those charged with terrorism and recruitment

activities have a tendency to spread violent ideologies inside prisons. Correctional services appeared challenged to handle the matter;

► By the end of 2016, some preventive measures were undertaken by the Kosovo Correction Service. These measures included risk assessments for each convicted person and categorisation according to the scale of radicalisation;

► De-radicalisation and reintegration programmes are not supposed to be only directed at individuals who have returned from conflict zones. These programmes also involve other individuals who have not joined foreign conflicts but have been subject to extremism inside the country;

► Radical religious literature was removed by the Correction Service authorities, while new books with unprovocative content were given to the inmates. This process was carried out in cooperation with the Ministry of Justice and the Islamic Community of Kosovo;

► When it comes to the reintegration of returning foreign fighters into society, there is, generally, among the population, a lack of willingness to accept returned foreign fighters back into society;

► The majority of arrested former Foreign Fighters are not expected to stay in prison for more than 3.5 years.

A round of questions and discussions followed the presentation. For the comparative analysis, the organisation (Kosovo Centre for Security Studies) looked at case studies from Germany, Denmark and Saudi Arabia. Arife explained that although Saudi Arabia might not serve as a role model, it is the country with the largest number of foreign fighters and therefore very important to consider in this context.

She further explained the social context of their programme:

In Kosovo, overall, there is a lack of capacities, resources and competencies to develop and implement reintegration programmes in correctional services/prisons.

The programme developed by the organisation includes 127 persons. It is an optional programme offered to Kosovo institutions, and it is implemented with the support of the Government. The project is not finished yet, and the evaluation about how successful it was, has not been carried out yet.

The reintegration programme suggests several steps. Important aspects include the importance given to the role of the family, psychological

assistance, involving religious authorities, and providing counter-narratives by foreign fighters that did not actually kill anyone, but went for solidarity with other Muslims and are usually less radicalised. Counter-narratives in prisons are done by selected people from the community and religious leaders. There is a need to be careful with the latter, because religious leaders might also support radicalisation. Non-formal education carries an important role especially in the second and post-prison phases of reintegration, where contact to the local community is slowly re-established.

There was some discussion over the question, if such de-radicalisation reintegration programmes in prisons and correctional services should be obligatory or voluntary. Arife explained that reintegration programmes are obligatory in Kosovo. It was mentioned that in some other countries, e.g. in Spain and Germany, reintegration programmes are optional, bringing prisoners some benefits, but leaving it up to them to decide if they want to take part. It was emphasised that if these kinds of programmes are voluntary, the organisers can make it clear to the prisoners that they can win something if they take part, and individuals join differently because they take part according to their own will.

The question was raised, how do you make sure that people cooperate, if they are obliged to participate? As an explanation, it was mentioned that a problem of small countries (e.g. Bosnia and Herzegovina) is that they have no perspective to offer to the people in prison. There are no jobs or anything that can be offered, that might be open to them when they are successfully reintegrated into the community. The reintegration programme developed by KCSS is based on the needs of the individual, since everyone has specific issues to be addressed. Generally, people in the Balkans who went to fight in Syria or Iraq and came back home, are disillusioned; these programmes can be done with them. But there are others that come back to recruit others, and those would never voluntarily join such a reintegration programme.

Suha Ayyash (Jordan, I-DARE): Prevention of violent extremism:City of Martyrs

Background context

Nowadays violent extremism follows transnational dynamics which threaten international peace and security. No state is immune to it and Jordan does not represent an exception to this phenomenon, with one of the highest rates of foreign fighters, both in absolute and relative terms. Indeed, an increasing number of young Jordanians have decided to leave everything and join extremist groups in Syria and Iraq.

IDARE (a non-for-profit and non-governmental social enterprise) has conducted action research together with young people in As-Salt, the “City of Martyrs”. They started with an informal collection of stories from young people, listening to what they said were the reasons and the context for joining up as fighters for extremist groups.

AimPresentation of research findings called City Of Martyrs.

Main discussion pointsUnderstanding the key factors that lead young Jordanians to embrace extremist causes in order to suggest the development of tools able to prevent their recruitment. Partially answer the question why young Jordanians are being radicalised, what are the mechanisms and venues used by violent extremist groups, what are the community perceptions of the population and to obtain a description of the demographics of the person who joins. It has been possible to collect 200 valid answers from over 274 which allowed the searchers to draw a profile of the person who joins violent extremist groups from Al-Salt and its villages.

Main findingsThe main reasons that lead these young Jordanians to join are related to dissatisfaction with their economic and work situation, the lack of opportunities to improve their living conditions and an increasing adoption of extremist views on religion. The findings also suggested that there are young Jordanians who joined a violent extremist group ‘flow’ because of the opinions or views of people they think are important and the violent propaganda itself, feeding a feeling of belonging with a fake promise.

The data indicates a considerable level of justification of violence with indications of the existence of Salafist interpretations and organised cells for recruitment in the city. In this regard, based on the collected data, universities are seen as the main core of radicalisation and recruitment, with a high level of corruption and violence. Several topics related to jihadist ideology are positively perceived by the community, even if this appears to be due to their incorporation in the traditions and the culture in general. In fact, although jihad is seen as a duty to be a good Muslim, it is intended in a non-violent way. However, it is important to report that a very high number of respondents consider the Daesh Caliphate legitimate and justify terrorist attacks, which leads us to question the real level of support in Jordan for these kinds of groups.

At the individual level, the Contagion Theory has become the main theory, the indicators being: ‘Seeking for a feeling of belonging’, ‘Opinions and views of important people in his/her life’ and ‘The vision of videos showing the fight against outside force or other religious groups’. At the societal level, the Social Norms Theory stands out as the main theory explaining why young Jordanians from Al-Salt join extremist groups, the indicators being: ‘The duty to help others’, ‘The need to fight against injustice’ and ‘The feeling that one’s religious interpretation is superior to others’.

Aya Chebbi (Tunisia, Africa Youth Movement): Youth Radicalisation - comparison between Al-Shabaab recruitment in Kenya and Daesh recruitment in Tunisia

AimPresenting the findings of research (Youth Radicalization Research, A Comparative Post 2011 Tunisia-Kenya) that demonstrates how the state contributes to youth radicalisation in Kenya and Tunisia.

Main discussion points► Shifting the debate on youth radicalisation from mainstream religious and psychological factors as well as education and unemployment, to deeper questions of inequality, injustice, marginalisation and identity. ► Theorised youth radicalised into the concept of Hogra.

Research findings:

Economic factorsIn Tunisia, areas that are rich in resources remain underdeveloped with the highest youth unemployment. In Kenya, Majengo slums, Eastleigh area, North Eastern counties, are largely underdeveloped and marginalised, as well as Mombasa’s shanty neighbourhoods and Coastal villages.

Extremist groups provide a service delivery role by filling the vacuum created by poor public services; they play a role in social mediation and conflict resolution as well as charitable activities; they become key economic and social actors replacing the vacuum left by state institutions and the government’s failure to provide basic services like education, health and welfare provision.

New job hierarchies tend to be filled according to already existing social ranks, creating long-lasting inequality, which explains the rise in youth unemployment. It must be noted that it is not the status of unemployment itself that leads to marginalisation but the perception of injustice.

Political factorsAge is denying youth participation in governance. Young people are absent during policy-making. Less than a quarter of Africa’s youth is “very interested in

public affairs”. Transition to adulthood often depends on the decision of more powerful elders. The percentage of Tunisian youth involved in political parties is under 2.7%. Jihadist ideologies represent a policy preference for young people, where “religious fundamentalists are ideologues and political activists are primarily concerned with political power”.

Police Violence and PolicingThe anti-terrorism bills are giving more powers to a widely distrusted police force to detain youths on suspicion of terrorism. De-radicalisation policies have left young people experiencing direct abuse by police: harassment, imprisonment etc.

The danger of the Victimisation NarrativePolitical discourse from a narrative of reform to a narrative of counterterrorism is counterproductive. The victimisation narrative portrays the youth as manipulated by the political elite and mobilised when needed for political violence, otherwise marginalised by the same elite.

Failure of the National Identity ProjectIsis offers a bigger project than national identity. It offers the transnational Ummah (community/a nation with a common ancestry or geography), a notion that surpasses any tribal, ethnic, or national belonging by the idea of religious belonging, or home. A place that has no visa restrictions, that is borderless, in which jihadist discourse seems to be replacing the ‘old nationalism’, becoming more appealing for young people who are antagonistic to the postcolonial State and the Nation-building project inherited since independence. A narrative that inspires a sense of being and belonging and constructs new imaginations of the community and the individual because of a deep-rooted sense of social and per-sonal crisis. The majority of African citizens trust their religious leaders, the army and their traditional leaders more than their elected representatives.

HograThe “Hogra” is one of the main causes of the outbreak of the revolt of 5 October 1988 in Algeria. The concept is of Algerian origin but very well rooted in popular culture in the Maghreb in general (Tunisia, Algeria and Morocco). Hagar is the one who abuses his power to crush the one he dominates [marginalising state], Mahgour [victim of Hogra]. Young people internalise the idea that they are mah-gours by the State and they are looking for a state without Hogra.


















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“It takes more than the local imam‘s Friday sermons or reading jihadi blogs on the Internet to become a committed extremist”



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Final reflections and outcomes________________________________________________________________

Evaluation in groups

As the conference was drawing to its end, participants were invited to join in groups to reflect upon two questions: What do they still need in order to work on PVR, and what valuable lessons and knowledge are they taking home? This group reflection was also an opportunity for the participants to begin reviewing these three days, keeping in perspective how it would be possible to transfer the elements of the conference to their realities and how they could apply what they had learned in their organisations. Below are the answers:

What do I still need in order to work on young people’s prevention of violent radicalisation?

More practices

More good practices/case studies

Information about specific training on the topic

More expertise on the topic

More active discussions on structural problems

Less academy, more hands-on practice

Counter narrative resources

More information about de-radicalisation work

Better learning spaces/environment

Case-solving exercises

More integrated approaches

More efficiency in reaching goals

More free time for cultural assimilation

Change of mind-set


















More meetings and exchanges

Study visits especially abroad ¬ More national & international meetings

Contact list of conference participants

A strong youth worker’s structure/network

Sharing-hub

Non-European (global) perspective

To involve different stakeholders in the discussion

Government support

More funding

More provision of structured data and knowledge

Facts and figures to back up research

Quantitative and qualitative research

Applied research

What do I bring home?

Broader perspectives

A wider and more continental view of the problem

Understanding the context in different countries and realities

Practices from other countries and cultures

Better understanding of the youth worker profile and of youth work practices in Europe and neighbouring countries

The diversity of social workers

Knowledge about similiar organisations

Contacts for future partnerships

New approaches to PVR

Understanding of the importance of cross-sectorial cooperation

Know-how

Practical knowledge

Concrete ideas, such as street mediation, digital storytelling etc.

Refreshed understanding

Understanding that radicalisation is not always negative

Awareness of dilemmas, e.g. involvement with the police

Confidence/Self-assessment

More doubts

The need to facilitate critical thinking

Inspiration for new ideas

Inspiration

Increased social capital

Information about funding opportunities

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More practices













Change of mind-set






















Sharing-hub



Government support

More funding




Applied research












Know-how

Practical knowledge






More doubts



Inspiration



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More practices













Change of mind-set






















Sharing-hub



Government support

More funding




Applied research












Know-how

Practical knowledge






More doubts



Inspiration



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“As this network moves forward, it will be very important to remain connected and to work with each other to accelerate change and to reach our goals faster”, Aya Chebbi



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Achievements and outlook________________________________________________________________

As emerged from the group discussions’ remarks, the participants acknowledged that they were returning home inspired by the diverse practices of others, motivated by the magnitude of their responsibilities but also filled with doubts. Their reservations concerned their set of professional skills, institutional partners to work with, the lack of specific training on the topic, their capacity to meet the challenges, a comprehensive understanding of the problem, limited international contacts and their eagerness to follow through what Miriam Teuma said during her speech: youth work should be backing up youth workers to support their own autonomy.

While transferring and putting into practive everything that was learned might not be easy and would take time, being exposed ¬ as it happened during the conference ¬ to new methods and approaches and cultural sensitivity will be pivotal to widening the participants’ horizons and to making them take ownership of current and future projects with renewed self-awareness and a constructive attitude.

Some participants underlined that after the conference that they would commit time to approach their work and studies with a new assertiveness, trying to delve into the PVR phenomenon with different eyes, seeking new partners, searching for more knowledge, setting their expectations higher due to the fact they were now more aware of the complexities of the PVR issue.

As agents of change who can easily relate to other young people, youth workers can have and must have a primary role in the prevention of young people’s violent radicalisation. How effective and productive their role is and will be in the future should, however, not be taken for granted. Many participants expressed that they needed to invest in their professional skills as youth workers. The interactions and reflections during the conference showed that understanding what kind of influencing factors can lead young people to radicalisation is only the first step. To fulfil their responsibilities, youth workers need to be independent and competent players who work in concert along with a wide network of players and stakeholders.


















The participants agreed that much more needed to be learned, by sharing more inspiring practices, gaining new skills, seriously reflecting on security issues, and forming strategic alliances. In addition, their voices should be taken up differently and amplified by the mainstream media and their inputs become part of political decision processes.

The group of participants was heterogeneous in terms on age, professional skills and profiles, course of studies, nationalities etc. Their active participation and constant involvement in group discussions inspired these final considerations.

The participants did not shy away from approaching this three-day journey on humble footings. Nobody had come to the conference with big truths in their luggage. As a matter of fact, the conference was also an occasion to un-pack them from old convictions, untested methodologies and approaches that had not stood the test of time or had not met the challenges.

Most of all, the conference in Malta did not mark the conclusion of a process; indeed, it was perceived and approached as a part of a journey in which new seeds have been planted on partially still uncultivated territory. How these seeds will grow and flourish, and how its plants will feed the hearts and minds of the youth workers involved in preventing young people’s paths towards violent radicalisation, was part of the discussion and one of the reasons why it is crucial to strategically take what had been understood and accomplished to the next level.

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Achievements and outlook________________________________________________________________

As emerged from the group discussions’ remarks, the participants acknowledged that they were returning home inspired by the diverse practices of others, motivated by the magnitude of their responsibilities but also filled with doubts. Their reservations concerned their set of professional skills, institutional partners to work with, the lack of specific training on the topic, their capacity to meet the challenges, a comprehensive understanding of the problem, limited international contacts and their eagerness to follow through what Miriam Teuma said during her speech: youth work should be backing up youth workers to support their own autonomy.

While transferring and putting into practive everything that was learned might not be easy and would take time, being exposed ¬ as it happened during the conference ¬ to new methods and approaches and cultural sensitivity will be pivotal to widening the participants’ horizons and to making them take ownership of current and future projects with renewed self-awareness and a constructive attitude.

Some participants underlined that after the conference that they would commit time to approach their work and studies with a new assertiveness, trying to delve into the PVR phenomenon with different eyes, seeking new partners, searching for more knowledge, setting their expectations higher due to the fact they were now more aware of the complexities of the PVR issue.

As agents of change who can easily relate to other young people, youth workers can have and must have a primary role in the prevention of young people’s violent radicalisation. How effective and productive their role is and will be in the future should, however, not be taken for granted. Many participants expressed that they needed to invest in their professional skills as youth workers. The interactions and reflections during the conference showed that understanding what kind of influencing factors can lead young people to radicalisation is only the first step. To fulfil their responsibilities, youth workers need to be independent and competent players who work in concert along with a wide network of players and stakeholders.


















The participants agreed that much more needed to be learned, by sharing more inspiring practices, gaining new skills, seriously reflecting on security issues, and forming strategic alliances. In addition, their voices should be taken up differently and amplified by the mainstream media and their inputs become part of political decision processes.

The group of participants was heterogeneous in terms on age, professional skills and profiles, course of studies, nationalities etc. Their active participation and constant involvement in group discussions inspired these final considerations.

The participants did not shy away from approaching this three-day journey on humble footings. Nobody had come to the conference with big truths in their luggage. As a matter of fact, the conference was also an occasion to un-pack them from old convictions, untested methodologies and approaches that had not stood the test of time or had not met the challenges.

Most of all, the conference in Malta did not mark the conclusion of a process; indeed, it was perceived and approached as a part of a journey in which new seeds have been planted on partially still uncultivated territory. How these seeds will grow and flourish, and how its plants will feed the hearts and minds of the youth workers involved in preventing young people’s paths towards violent radicalisation, was part of the discussion and one of the reasons why it is crucial to strategically take what had been understood and accomplished to the next level.

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Interviews with participants ________________________________________________________________

Carmine Rodi Falanga Freelance non-formal education trainer and consultant, Italy

How has the conference enriched you?I came motivated especially to find background information, scientific research and facts about different geographical and political areas. I found them, therefore I am very satisfied.

Secondly, I am pleased that I could exchange opinions and points of view with people working in the field and who came from different areas of Europe and other countries.

How would you define a youth worker?That’s a hard thing to do. In Italy we have to use the English word to refer to it. For me, a youth worker is a person who works for and with young people in order to support them. He/she creates learning opportunities, empowers them, helps them to realise and fulfil their true potentials. A person who is able to complement young people’s formal education through non-formal and leisure time learning activities, and possibly, who can work on preventing the risk of marginalisation young people are facing.

Why can youth workers make a difference in the field of preventing radicalisation that might lead to violence?The role can be vitally important by providing healthy alternatives and spreading awareness and information on critical areas such as citizenship, intercultural learning, or models of coexistence and on the crucial aspects concerning democracy. When it comes to youth work, young people can learn how to live together, how to solve conflicts in a non-violent way and how it is possible to live in a society accepting differences, trying to find common grounds in a constructive way, choosing viable solutions to solve conflicts of interest, rather than creating opposition and fuelling extreme identities.

Which tools do you use to strengthen young people’s resilience to ideologies of violence?Knowledge and facts. I think it is important to enrich young people’s knowledge in subjects like history, geography, geopolitics, or science in order to oppose ignorance and manipulation that are rampant in society, sometimes even in mainstream media and social networks. I’m also


















underlining competence: how to think critically, how to be digitally literate, and competences related to conflicts: how to deal with different cultures, to understand what culture means and to be aware of the historical reasons that influence certain behaviours.

So, I think it is important we make the best out of non-formal learning, experience-based learning, nature-based education. One thing that I use in particular in my work as a trainer is learning based on games. Through playing games young people can learn a lot. Cooperative games teach collaborative skills and not to alienate who is different from us. They teach us how to build alternatives and use resources in a creative and efficient way. I would also highlight the importance of narrative storytelling. It works because it helps to develop empathy, listening, and an interest in things that have a human connotation, such as other cultures and far-away places.

With regard to the culture of games, it is important that parents, teachers, educators and youth workers remain watchful because young people in particular spend a lot of time engaged in playing, in particular video games. These games have established and built cultural communities around them. Each game, indeed, refers to a community. The community is an extension of a type of culture. Some of these cultures are balanced, welcoming and positive; others are violent, toxic and aggressive. As a young person joins a gaming community he/she is likely to be exposed to the values and attitudes that are predominant in that particular culture. It is important to influence and monitor, or to be there when a person joins a gaming community in order to supervise the interactions during critical moments.

Who is better equipped to engage young people in the fight against violent extremism? Politicians, media, civil society organisations, educational institutions...?I think everyone is responsible. The solution would be to have a multi-platform approach in which each stakeholder manages its own share of responsibilities, from politicians to the media, including educational institutions and civil society. But probably, the best equipped are the youth workers because they have matured with a wider range of competences ranging from education, psychology, facilitation, conflicts and intercultural mediation. The youth can excel thanks to a rich scope of competences that other actors equipped with more specific skills might not have.

Are players tasked with preventing radicalism, ranging from governments to youth NGOs, working effectively together, or is each player acting in silos? I don’t think we are effectively working together. Based on my experience, different actors do not work in coordinated partnerships, except for a few cases that I witnessed myself regarding very specific projects involving children with mental disabilities and people who are recovering from addiction.

When it comes to youth work, each actor is working solo, communication among stakeholders is missing, and what is worse, sometimes they are competing for the same limited resources.

Aya Chebbi Award-winning Pan-African feminist activist and renowned blogger, Tunisia

How has the conference enriched you?This has been the first event I have attended along with so many people working on the same topic of PVR. The number of initiatives was very impressive and also the fact that people are related to this field in one way or another. The network is very enriching. As this network moves forward, it will be very important to remain connected and to work with each other to accelerate change and to reach our goals faster.

How would you define a youth worker?It is any young person who works for social change: Any action, any positive contribution to society carried out by a young person who touches the life of young people in one way or another. A youth worker is someone who contributes to society positively as an active citizen and as a young change maker.

Why can youth workers make a difference in the field of preventing radicalisation that might lead to violence?First of all, because violent groups are targeting young people because of their energy, because of their creativity. Most of the groups target young graduate students because they have knowledge. And so, young people can make a difference here because their peers are the first ones to experience this, they are the first ones to be recruited into violence. They understand their peer’s reasons and the complexity of different things leading them to radicalisation.

So, it is very important that when we work in this field we understand why someone would choose the path to violence.

Second of all, youth working on this field can make a difference because they can also change the narrative. The current narrative implies that young people are radicalised, young people are violent, this generation is a lost generation, it is a youth generation that can be manipulated and so on. There is a false narrative about youths as being the victim. So, if we want to see young people working for a positive change and working to end violent radicalisation, is very important to change the current narrative, which features the youth as perpetrators of violence, with a narrative that portrays young people as positive and as change makers.

Which tools do you use to strengthen young people’s resilience to the ideologies of violence?I would say that the first is empowerment. Many young people internalise the idea that they are powerless, they believe that they are marginalised, that they cannot do anything about it, that they cannot do anything to change it. So they consciously choose to join these violent paths. So, youth empowerment is very important to entrust youths to lead, to make young people believe in their own talents, that they can change things positively.

The second tool is the creation of spaces for youth engagement. I think that what these violent groups are trying to do is to create a space for youth to belong in. It is a project that is bigger than national identity, that is translational, borderless. That space of belonging is engaging the youth in a different way. We need to be able to create alternative spaces for young people, spaces that are non-violent, non-misogynistic, non-discriminatory, where they can be themselves and where they can feel empowered, to be their own self, their own identity.

Other tools, especially with regard to narrative, can be the media, social media, or creative art, like music, cartoons, or satire. They can be used to make their own narrative, express themselves. So I think it is important for youth to own their own narrative so they can to tell their own stories, how they imagine their future, their own aspirations, and to speak up.

Who is better equipped to engage young people in the fight against violent extremism? Politicians, the media, civil society organisations, educational institutions?All of the above-mentioned, and the list goes on. I can also mention religious leaders, other state institutions like the police and policy makers. I think the key is to map where power is. If we are able to see the power dynamics, where

power and decision-making are, then we can find who are the people they need to engage with. In Tunisia, for example, I would say the police institution is very important in engaging people, and to collaborate with all other state and non-state actors and institutions.

Obviously, policy makers, too, because they shape the policies that will affect the youth in the first place. So, I’d say it is a collaboration of all these actors and more.

Are players tasked with preventing radicalism, ranging from governments to youth NGOs, working effectively together, or is each player acting in silos? I have not seen a model that marks a successful collaboration between all these players so far. In our part of the world, where we have the highest rate of foreign fighters and violent groups, we don’t see that. We see collaboration sometimes between the government and NGOs, sometimes between NGOs and the media, sometimes between the media and the youth. But we do not see real multi-stakeholder collaboration where each player is going in the same direction.

In Tunisia, I see that a lot of work is accomplished by civil society, then the State comes in not to support or to collaborate, but to shrink the civic space for civil society to operate. So many of the policies of the government actually restrict civil society organisations’ work. Recently, we had a couple of hundred organisations whose licences had been revoked. Many of these practices are carried out within the scope of authoritarianism laws that stop organisations from working. Of course, some of them are groups that use the umbrella of civil society to do other work, but many of the civil society organisations that are youth led have been threatened by these kinds of policies.

So, not only each player acts in silos, but sometimes the state restricts the work of civil society that is needed. And that is dangerous.

Kemal Yaldizli Youth against Violence, Academic director and Deputy general manager, Norway

How has the conference enriched you?Sharing knowledge and experiences with other participants from many different countries and backgrounds has contributed to broadening my insights. I have initiated some new ideas to work on.

How would you define a youth worker?Someone who is committed and who systematically works (with young people) for positive mobilization and change at different levels of society over time, along with other partners.

Who is better equipped to engage young people in the fight against violent extremism? Politicians, media, civil society organisations, educational institutions?It is the sum of their interactions and cooperation and their ability to support each other's strengths that makes the difference. Civil society organisations enjoy a special strength: the virtue of their role. Civil society organisations employ measures that are heterogeneous, provide credibility and can reach vulnerable groups.

The least suitable are those players who encourage a black or white perception of the challenges and of the solutions.

Are players tasked with preventing radicalism, ranging from governments to youth NGOs, working effectively together, or is each player acting in silos? Stimulating a collaborative culture that values the benefit of each other's strengths, resources and competences for a common goal is a constant challenge. Unfortunately, the individual player who considers himself a main actor and who neglects the interacting factors is not the exception but the rule. This dynamic has the effect of undercutting the potentials of other players who are committed and motivated to excel.

Lana PašićDevelopment consultant, currently engaged as a researcher with SALTO-YOUTH and as copywriter/editor with UNDP BiH, Bosnia and Herzegovina.

How has the conference enriched you?The conference has given me the opportunity to learn more about other people's work and various approaches and activities youth workers use in preventing violent radicalisation. It has also given me a clearer understanding of the challenges and needs of youth workers, as we have gained a broader picture than what we originally had in the research, since the group discussions on these topics were fruitful and in-depth. It has also been important for me to meet various stakeholders and map their areas of work, priorities and competences, which will help in my further research in this area.

How would you define a youth worker?A youth worker is any person who works with young people and influences their development through various formal, non-formal and informal activities

in the areas of education, culture, sports or any other field. Youth workers might be in the youth centres, but also in the streets, doing outreach youth work.

Why can youth workers make a difference in the field of preventing radicalisation that might lead to violence?Young people, particularly at the stage of adolescence are open to various influences in their attempts to discover and make sense of the world around them. If they are experiencing certain disadvantages in terms of social, economic or other challenges, their resilience to various influences is lower, and in that context they may be more susceptible to radicalisation and use of violence. Thus, youth work plays an important part in providing young people with education, training, provision of alternative scenarios, and opportunities for personal and professional growth and development, all of which may help in countering the radicalisation process and propensity towards the use of violence.

Which tools can be used to strengthen young people’s resilience to ideologies of violence?

Some of the most important tools are education, awareness raising and provision of information to young people, as well as intercultural education, dialogue, conflict management, and provision of alternative scenarios. Of course, different tools work in different contexts, as we are aware that the processes of violent radicalisation and influencing factors are different for every individual, thus the approach and tools should also be adapted accordingly.

Who is better equipped to engage young people in the fight against violent extremism? Politicians, media, civil society organisations, educational institutions...? The prevention of violent radicalisation is a process which requires long term engagement and the coordinated efforts of all stakeholders. All actors have a role to play and can influence the process within their capacity. As radicalisation itself is rarely driven by one factor alone, so the solution cannot be sought from one source only. Educational institutions can play their part in empowering the youth, providing information, education and training, CSOs and youth workers can provide informal and non-formal training and work on building young people's skills and capacities, the media and politicians can also influence the messages that are sent at this level and how young people and certain groups are perceived in society, and the social and economic context will determine the extent of the opportunities young people have, which also influences their responsiveness to radical processes.

Of course, religious institutions and the community, families and peers also play an important part.

Thus, prevention depends on many different factors and actors, and stakeholders need to understand the limits of a one-actor approach, but rather need to pursue holistic, comprehensive approaches and work in partnership with each other, and we have identified cases of such successful collaboration in our research.

Are players tasked with preventing radicalism, ranging from governments to youth NGOs, working effectively together, or is each player acting in silos?

This very much depends on the context, and we cannot generalise. In certain countries and communities we can see strong collaboration and partnerships, while in others this is not the case. As the context, influences, actors and approaches differ, so does the level of their cooperation and the results.

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Annexes________________________________________________________________

Programme overview

Nov 27th

Themeof the

day

Arrivals

Welcomeevening

Session

1

Session

2

Session

3

Session

4

Nov 28th Nov 29th Nov 30th

Understandingof the topic

Official introductionand welcome

Keynote speechby Prof. Miriam Teuta,University of Malta

Concepts discussedin connectionwith the theme:- Radicalism- Extremism- Terrorism- Prevention- Youth work- Violence

Workshopsintroducing good practices fromthe research

Follow-up planning:- Lessons learned- Follow up at different levels

Tool fair: Practices introducedby participants

Wrapping-up

Evaluation

Closing

Talk-show with4 experts presentingdifferent aspectsand perspectivesof PVR

Academia morning:Examples ofresearch-basedfindings on differentaspects of violentradicalisation

Mapping of who ishere & expectations

Workshops withthe same experts

What else do we wantto discuss andknow about?Topics suggested by participants and organisers

PVR in action Follow-up

Lunch

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List of participantsFirst name

LuisAnushRebeccaAnnaJohannesMartinaVeroniqueBobIrma

Adis

DejanKristinaIvanichkaSonyaAndromahiAngelosLeane

EeroFlavienVictoria

MélanieSosoLelaEleneTamarVerenaAnna ChiaraSanaaJanet

JuditIreneAnnamaria

ElenaNúria Carme

Last name

BekteshiNazaryanHovhannisyaThiemannKuglerSalakovaDe LeenerDe VosSaraćHukanovićHukanovic

RađenKostadinovaNikolovaRusevaPavlidouMichaelMorits

JansonLafosseLovelock

PrézelinDolidzeMerabishviliShashiashviliBekauriHüsingDickmann LaabichMonrealAmorósLantajBiundoSimeone

FrauPujol Moliné

Country

AlbaniaArmeniaArmeniaAustriaAustriaAustriaBelgium - FLBelgium - FLBosnia and Herzegovina

Bosnia and Herzegovina

Bosnia and HerzegovinaBulgariaBulgariaBulgariaCyprusCyprusEstonia

EstoniaFranceFrance

FranceGeorgiaGeorgiaGeorgiaGeorgiaGermanyGermanyGermanyGermany

HungaryItalyItaly

ItalyItaly

Organisation

Youth center "PERSPEKTIVA""Civic Consent" NGO Youth Club Vienna - JuZeSDiakonie Flüchtlingsdienst gem. GmbHMauthausen MemorialMaks vzwvzw jongYouth Initiative for Human Rights BiH

Forum Civil Peace Service in BiH; YouthInitiative for Human Rights BiHPRONI-Center for youth developmentBETA e.VPSHS American College ArcusYouth VoiceHope For Children CRC Policy CenterCyprus Youth OrganisationNaiskodukaitse/Kaitseliit, Women`s voluntary defence organization/The Estonian Defence LeagueEstonian Refugee CouncilSocial center "La Pépinière"The Coordinating Committee forInternational Voluntary Service (CCIVS)Les Gueules de Loup compagnieAssociation "Psychologists for Justice"Action Against Hunger Sozialdienst kath. Frauen e. V. KölnKulturLife gGmbHMJD (Muslim Youth in Germany e.V.)Evangelische Jugend- und Fürsorgewerk(EJF gemeinnützige AG) European Federation of Youth ClubsCSC Danilo Dolci Associazione Giosef Unito - GiovaniSenza Frontiere Italy; HREYN - HumanRights Education Youth NetworkAssociazione NEAEquality Cooperativa Sociale Onlus

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MelissaCarmineSuhaSamer

MiradinArifeJessica

Ritianne Paola Andrea

Isabelle JelenaIssame

Gert-JanKemalAlinaOle MartinPedersenJohanneSverreLidiaTymonBeataKatarzyna Anna

Corina

Marius CezarLiubov

Naim LeoMilicaIngridJosé Antonio

TugbaAyaKais

Semen

ManciniRodi FalangaIsmailAl-Kasih

BajriMujiWalker

EllulBlancoBuitragoMalliaFuštićMarghich

VerboomYaldizliBarysnikovaGjestad

KalsaasFredriksenChęcińskaKubackiKowalNiedurny Pukacz-GónikowskaPirvulescu

TomaRomanova

BesiriSavinDanckaertsDelgadode la HermosaSchussmannChebbiSoui

Khmelnickiy

ItalyItalyJordanJordan

Kosovo * UN ResolutionKosovo * UN ResolutionLuxembourg

MaltaMalta

MaltaMontenegroMorocco

NetherlandsNorwayNorwayNorway

NorwayNorwayPolandPolandPolandPolandPoland

Romania

RomaniaRussian Federation

SerbiaSerbiaSpainSpain

SwitzerlandTunisiaTunisia

Ukraine

G.U.S. Gruppo Umana SolidarietàCooperativa Sociale Muovimente I Dare for Sustainable Development United Religions InisiativeMiddle East & North Africa (URI MENA )Diakonie Kosova- Youth CenterKosovar Center for Security StudiesEuropean Youth Information andCounselling Agency (ERYICA)

Forum MNE (Mladi i neformalna edukacija)The Mediterranean Forum ForSocial DevelopmentThe Hang-Out 010Youth against ViolenceOslo municipality, Alna district/NAV AlnaSarpsborg kommune

The Red Cross / Fellesverket Youth HouseÅssiden idrettsforeningII High School in Piotrków TrybunalskiThe Wroclaw Center for Social DevelopmentSTOWARZYSZENIE MOJE KRZYSZKOWICETheatre Zagłębia

1.European Youth Card AssociatioEYCA 2.Think tank & ResourceCentre 'Social DOers'Arges County Inspectorate of GendarmerieInterregional nongovernmentalorganisationInstitute for European AffairsCreative Youth of Novi SadServei Civil Internacional CatalunyaAyuntamiento de Tocina

TransEducationAfrika Youth Movement L'Association Euro-méditerranéenne desEchanges, Volontariats, EvènementsNGO "Kharkov union activists"

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Hanna Yarega Ukraine All-Ukrainian Youth NGO “Foundation of Regional Initiatives”Oleksandr Fomichov Ukraine Charitable Organisation “Charitable Fund” “League of Tolerance”Amanda Atkinson United Kingdom Victim SupportTim Rosier United Kingdom University of DerbyNathan Erskine United Kingdom University of CumbriaMark Rossiter United Kingdom The City of Liverpool CollegeDave Steward United Kingdom Miriam Teuma Malta Expert, Youth Department; Maltese Association of Youth WorkersFarkhanda Chaudhry U.K. Expert Michaela Glaser Germany ExpertDeborah Erwin U.K. Expert Darek Grzemny Poland ExpertLana Pasic Bosnia and Herzegovina Researcher Federica Demicheli France SALTO EuroMed Resource CentreBernard Abrignani France SALTO EuroMed Resource CentreMałgorzata Pawłowska Poland SALTO EECA Resource CentreSonja Mitter Slovenia SALTO SEE Resource CentreMara Georgescu France EU-CoE Youth Partnership Erlend Sand Bruer Norway Norwegian National AgencyMarvic Debono Malta Maltese National AgencyKevin Apap Malta Maltese National AgencyBarbara Schmidt Germany German National AgencyAlessia Cecchini Italy Italian National AgencyMariaelisa Marzotti Italy Italian National AgencyKhalid Miah U.K. UK National AgencyMartino Pillitteri Italy Rapporteur Natalia Nikitina Russian Federation Facilitator Iyad Ajaber Jordan Facilitator

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Selected resources________________________________________________________________

Strategy about Youth Work against Violent Radicalisation, which represents the framwork of this conference, including the research “Youth Work against Violent Radicalisation: Theory, Concepts and Primary Prevention in Practice”: https://www.salto-youth.net/about/regionalcooperation/current/againstviolentradicalisation/

Young People and Extremism: A Resource Pack for Youth Workers, SALTO Cultural Diversity Resource Centre, 2016: https://www.salto-youth.net/rc/inclusion/inclusionpublications/youngpeopleandextremism/

The contribution of youth work to preventing marginalisation and violent radicalisation. A practical toolbox for youth workers & recommendations for policy makers : results of the expert group set up under the European Union Work Plan for Youth for 2016-2018, European Commission, 2017: https://publications.europa.eu/en/publication-detail/-/publication/0ad09926-a8b1-11e7-837e-01aa75ed71a1/language-en

Liaisons – A toolkit for the prevention of violent extremism through youth information, ERYICA, 2017 (available in English and French language): https://www.eryica.org/tools-resources/

Where to find more information about the European Institutions and their programmes in the field of youth:

Erasmus+ is the EU's programme to support education, training, youth and sport in Europe. Erasmus+ is open to many individuals and organisations, although eligibility varies from one action to another and from one country to another. Individuals can take part in many of the opportunities funded by Erasmus+, although most will have to do so through an organisation taking part in the programme. The eligibility of individuals and organisations depends on the country in which they are based. General website of Erasmus+: http://ec.europa.eu/programmes/erasmus-plus/node_en

Eligible countries are divided into two groups, Programme countries and Partner countries. Programme countries are eligible for all actions of Erasmus+, while Partner countries can only take part in some, and are subject to specific conditions.

► Key Action 1: Mobility of individuals

► Key Action 2: Cooperation for innovation and the exchange of goodpractices

► Key Action 3: Support for policy reform

Erasmus+ Programme Guide: http://ec.europa.eu/programmes/erasmus-plus/resources/programme-guide_en

Organisations based in the EU's Partner countries can apply for projects in the field of youth under Key Action 2, Capacity Building in the field of youth, to the European Commission's Education, Audiovisual and Culture Executive Agency. More information: https://eacea.ec.europa.eu/erasmus-plus/actions/key-action-2-cooperation-for-innovation-and-exchange-good-practices/capacity_en

SALTO-YOUTH is a network of six Resource Centres working on European priority areas within the youth field. As part of the European Commission's Training Strategy, SALTO-YOUTH provides non-formal learning resources for youth workers and youth leaders and organises training and contact-making activities to support organisations and National Agencies within the frame of the European Commission's Erasmus+: Youth in Action programme and beyond. More information: https://www.salto-youth.net/

The Council of Europe’s Youth Department is part of the Directorate of Democratic Participation within the Directorate General of Democracy (“DGII”) of the Council of Europe. The Department elaborates guidelines, programmes and legal instruments for the development of coherent and effective youth policies at local, national and European levels. It provides funding and educational support for international youth activities aiming to promote youth citizenship, youth mobility and the values of human rights, democracy and cultural pluralism. It seeks to bring together and disseminate expertise and knowledge about the life situations, aspirations and ways of expression of young Europeans. More information: https://www.coe.int/en/web/youth

The Council of Europe's European Youth Foundation (EYF), which is a division in the Youth Department, provides financial and educational support for European youth activities, it has an annual budget of approximately € 3.7 million. It supports European youth activities organised by non-governmental youth organisations and networks, such as international youth meetings, conferences, campaigns, training courses, seminars, study visits, which have as possible outputs exhibitions, publications, audio-visual material and websites.

More information: https://www.coe.int/en/web/european-youth-foundation/home

The EU-CoE youth partnership is a co-operation programme between the European Commission and the Council of Europe in the field of youth. The overall goal is to foster synergies between the youth-oriented activities of the two institutions, by working on themes of interest for both institutions and on issues that justify a common European approach. The activities of the EU-CoE youth partnership address the needs of young people and the wider youth field, including decision makers, governmental experts, youth researchers, youth practitioners and youth organisations.

More information: https://pjp-eu.coe.int/en/web/youth-partnership/about-us

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