Solidifying the Balkan, Southern and Eastern European learning hub on radicalisation
HOPE Radicalisation Network: an open online hub for P/CVE experts and practitioners
May 4, 2022
Successful rehabilitation of extremists highly depends on multi-agency cooperation
May 31, 2022
Dozens of experts on violent extremism prevention and countering (P/CVE) from fourteen countries and multi-lateral organisations gathered to share expert insights. The initiative marks the strengthening of a network on holistic radicalisation prevention.
The HOPE Radicalisation Network continues its mission to deepen and disseminate a pool of knowledge and training resources to practitioners.
The first international in-person conference of the HOPE project included key stakeholders from the Council of Europe, United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, General Directorates of Prison and Probation, civil society/community representatives, and academic researchers.
The event provided a valuable overview of the current findings, needs, and future steps for P/CVE, focusing on the Balkan, Southern, and Eastern European contexts.
The conference hosted several specialised and insightful presentations from various experts. These important interventions covered topics ranging from the regional root causes of radicalisation to the rehabilitation and reintegration of violent extremist offenders.
Dorin Muresan, a Senior Expert at IPS_Innovative Prison Systems (the project promotor), highlighted the importance of regional specificities on the causes of radicalisation in local P/CVE strategies.
After a briefing on these specificities, the expert shared some guidelines on how to improve P/CVE efforts, mainly through de-centralisation.
Asking practitioners to extend their focus from VETOs to other vulnerable individuals, Ondřej Kolář reinforced a preventive focus. The expert in prison radicalisation from the Police Academy of the Czech Republic explained the prison radicalisation process, focusing on the Czechia’s experience. He also accentuated the need for prison staff training to overcome challenges faced with radicalisation in prison.
The HOPE Mid-Term International Conference was also an opportunity to present the European Survey and Needs Assessment Outcomes that the project recently developed. Josep García Coll from FUNDEA (Euro-Arab Foundation for Higher Studies) and Matteo Pugliese from Agenfor presented the main challenges and difficulties faced by P/CVE professionals. Once again, staff training has been identified as a critical need.
Ivaylo Yordanov, Director General of the Bulgarian General Directorate “Execution of Sentences”, and Emil Dechev, Bulgarian Deputy Minister of Justice, were present and gave their welcoming speeches opening the event.
The Mid-term International Conference of the HOPE project was entitled “Preventing and countering violent extremism in the Balkan, Southern, and Eastern European region: Current needs and future steps” and took place in Sofia, Bulgaria, on the 7th and 8th of April, 2022.
This event was built upon the Transnational Thematic Workshops already held within the scope of the project and came to solidify the HOPE learning hub on radicalisation and empower even more relevant professionals in the area.By joining HOPE’s network, members can stay abreast of all project initiatives access hundreds of relevant resources and network with more than sixty P/CVE experts and organisations worldwide.
