Background and aim of the meeting
Over the past few years, the landscape of polarisation, radicalisation and extremism in Europe has evolved significantly. Where local coordinators were previously mostly dealing with violent Islamist extremism, they are currently facing a more and more diverse landscape. Threats are coming from (violent) right-wing extremist groups, from conspiracy theories, such as QAnon, from changes in the violent Islamist extremist landscape due to the take-over of Afghanistan by the Taliban and from radical environmentalist groups.
Not only are local coordinators dealing with this wide spectrum of radicalisation and extremism, the threat has also become more diffuse. Fuelled by the COVID-19 pandemic, extremist groups now also use their shared distrust in authorities and use (parts of) each other’s narratives to further erode trust in our democratic societies.
The local P/CVE approach needs to adapt to the changing landscape constantly. On day 1, the challenges to deal with the current dynamics will be discussed. Day 2 will focus on how to tap into these dynamics and how to further develop the local strategy to be more flexible and suited to this changing landscape.
Call for participants
We are currently looking for local P/CVE coordinators who want to share their experiences in dealing with this changing landscape on a local level and who want to learn from their peers.
If you are interested in participating in this meeting, could you please answer the questions in this form by 25 October the latest?
We will invite participants and draft the programme based on the answers to the questions.
Please keep in mind that we only have a limited number of places available for this meeting, so participation is not guaranteed.
If you have any further questions, please don't hesitate to contact Rik Scheele, Lieke Wouterse and Malaz Shahhoud.
