In October 2023, members of the RAN Practitioners network from all over Europe met up in Brussels for the RAN Practitioners Plenary event. The annual event was attended by delegates from the European Commission, RAN Working Group leads, practitioners from each of the Working Groups and representatives from RAN YOUNG. The main purpose of the event was to set the agenda for the year ahead. In this Special Edition of the RAN Practitioners Update therefore, we take a brief look at some of what was discussed at the event.
Setting the agenda (09/11/2023)
The RAN Practitioners Plenary brought together practitioners actively engaged in the network in order to take stock of past achievements as well as discuss priorities for the year ahead. The Plenary offered an opportunity to: address new topical angles in P/CVE; meet beyond the normal composition of the Working Groups; and address cross-cutting issues. The outcomes of the event have been captured in a conclusion paper which will be published on the RAN Practitioners website in the coming weeks.
Emerging topics (09/11/2023)
The Plenary explored the current trends and topics of concern to RAN practitioners. These discussions were informed by a survey of network members conducted prior to the event, which found that the following topics were of most concern: current drivers for radicalisation; mainstreaming of violent right wing extremism; new digital technologies and online radicalisation; the mental health of practitioners and mental health aspects of P/CVE; and the impact of global events, such as Israel-Gaza, and geopolitical factors in P/CVE.
Practitioner perspectives (09/11/2023)
A short film, which provides an overview of the Plenary, explores why the event matters, what the key points of discussion were and what the future holds. To do this, we spoke to a number of participants at the event, including the European Commission, Working group leads and a member of the RAN YOUNG Platform.
The role of civil society organisations (CSOs) in exit work and DDR programmes in prisons and enhancing cooperation with state actors (16/11/2023)
The role of civil society organisations (CSOs) in exit work and DDR programmes in prisons and enhancing cooperation with state actors
Prevention of secondary traumatisation arising from P/CVE efforts (21/11/2023)
Prevention of secondary traumatisation arising from P/CVE efforts
Explorative meeting on dealing with problematic developments of the extreme left (22/11/2023)
Explorative meeting on dealing with problematic developments of the extreme left
Preparing receiving communities for their involvement in the rehabilitation process (22/11/2023)
Preparing receiving communities for their involvement in the rehabilitation process
Prevention of violent extremism: a shared responsibility between mental health care and the security domain (28/11/2023)
Prevention of violent extremism: a shared responsibility between mental health care and the security domain
How can police deal with heated debates and disruptive protests without adding oil to the extremist fire? (30/11/2023)
How can police deal with heated debates and disruptive protests without adding oil to the extremist fire?
Evaluation of secondary and tertiary level P/CVE programmes (09/11/2023)
A paper published in October 2023 discusses the key challenges that come with evaluating secondary and tertiary prevention programmes. The paper provides examples of successful approaches in this field that appropriately respond to the complexity of the issue and evaluation challenges. The paper also identifies lessons learned from successful approaches on how best to overcome the key challenges.
Preventive campaigning using biographical experiences from victims, survivors and former extremists (09/11/2023)
A paper published in October 2023, provides insights for practitioners on the do’s, and don’ts of involving former extremists who have disengaged from radical ideologies, and victims and survivors of terrorism who have directly experienced the consequences of extremist violence in preventive campaigns. The paper provides thoughts about ethical considerations, dealing with media/publicity, and advice for policymakers.
Taking Stock of Approaches to Counter Hate Speech in the Western Balkans (09/11/2023)
A paper published in October 2023, provides practitioners with an overview of different approaches to tackling hate speech in Western Balkan countries.`The paper describes the dynamics of hate speech, the main institutional actors combating hate speech and the role of CSOs. The paper presents examples of CSO activities and provides advice on how to improve practices.
Prevention of violent extremism: a shared responsibility between mental health care and the security domain (28/11/2023)
This meeting will take place on 28 November 2023 from 09.00 – 15.00h in The Hague (NL)
The role of mental health issues or mental illness in relation to radicalisation and violent extremism has gained more attention over the past few years. As discussed during the RAN Practitioners Mental Health Working Group meeting on ‘Enhancing the cooperation between mental health practitioners and security forces in P/CVE,’ practitioners noted a new phenomenon whereby a very high number of cases they encountered recently related to violent extremism seemed to suffer from some kind of mental health issue. Additionally, Europol signalled in their TE-SAT 2022 that violent incidents not labelled as terrorist but using terrorist modi operandi occurred in 2021: ‘While sometimes showing signs of religious radicalisation, the perpetrators of these incidents displayed other driving factors, in particular mental health issues.’
Prevention of secondary traumatisation arising from P/CVE efforts (21/11/2023)
This meeting will take place online on 21 November 2023 from 9.00 to 12.30 CET.
We are looking for participants that are interested in joining the upcoming meeting of the RAN Victims/Survivors of Terrorism Working Group: ‘Prevention of secondary traumatisation arising from P/CVE efforts.’
Preparing receiving communities for their involvement in the rehabilitation process (23/11/2023)
Thursday 23 November & Friday 24 November 2023, Bucharest, Romania - Lunch-to-lunch meeting
For this joint meeting of the Rehabilitation Working Group and Families, Communities and Social Care Working group, we are presently looking for P/CVE practitioners working with communities and involved in exit work, such as exit workers, probation officers, and community representatives (see more explanation on communities below).
In the context of the growing trend of distrust in institutions linked to an increase in violent extremist protests in recent years, the police and other law enforcement agencies are now on the frontline in responding to violent extremist activity, both in the streets and online. In this edition of the RAN Practitioners Update therefore, we take a brief look at the role that the police plays in P/CVE. To do this, we feature the latest episode of RAN Reporters and a recent Spotlight magazine on the topic. This Update also highlights some upcoming events and presents some of the latest papers produced by RAN Practitioners.
Film (23/10/2023)
In the latest episode of our RAN Reporters series – a series of films which uncover some of the most interesting projects and interventions delivered by members of the RAN Practitioners network – we travel to Tallinn, Estonia, to visit Web Constables.
Spotlight (23/10/2023)
In a recent edition of the RAN Practitioners Spotlight publications – a digital magazine which gives the platform to practitioners to share their insights and experiences on a P/CVE topic – we take a look at the important role of the police and law enforcement in preventing and countering violent extremism (P/CVE). The publication shines a Spotlight on the RAN Police and Law Enforcement (RAN POL) Working Group, exploring how the police can work online, discussing the growing trend of distrust of institutions which may in some cases lead to violent extremism and understanding how to deal with violent protests.
Paper (23/10/2023)
In a RAN Practitioners paper published at the end of last year, practitioners can learn about the challenges for police in dealing with the growing trend of distrust of institutions which may in some cases lead to violent extremism. The paper provides insights for practitioners on the nature and scale of the threat, the role of police in tackling mass violent extremist protests and conspiracy narratives.
Introductory training: Dialogue Police Approach, as used by the Swedish Police (30/10/2023)
Introductory training: Dialogue Police Approach, as used by the Swedish Police
The role of civil society organisations (CSOs) in exit work and DDR programmes in prisons and enhancing cooperation with state actors (16/11/2023)
The role of civil society organisations (CSOs) in exit work and DDR programmes in prisons and enhancing cooperation with state actors
Managing the Needs of Child Returnees (23/10/2023)
This paper provides an overview of the French approach to the management and reintegration of child returnees, outlining the different actors involved and the challenges encountered so far. The paper also provides a summary of the approaches and measures in place in the Western Balkans region, including an analysis of the differences and similarities to the French setup and the gaps and good practices identified by the attending practitioners.
Online Radicalisation in the Western Balkans: Trends and Responses (23/10/2023)
This paper provides an overview of the online radicalisation trends and responses in the Western Balkans, including key narratives, actors, networks and online dissemination strategies. The paper – which provides context on the influence of the online space on radicalisation by looking at the opportunities it offers and dispelling some common myths – also provides an overview of relevant practices to address online vulnerabilities.
The future and position of local P/CVE strategies and approaches (23/10/2023)
This paper provides practitioners with insights on the changing landscape and potential options for repositioning local strategies for preventing and countering violent extremism (P/CVE). The paper provides an overview of the main changes in the extremist landscape and the main challenges for local authorities and practitioners, and outlines approaches which can be taken to address the challenges.
The role of civil society organisations (CSOs) in exit work and DDR programmes in prisons and enhancing cooperation with state actors (16/11/2023)
The meeting will take placein Berlinfrom Thursday 16 November (13:30)until Friday 17 November 2023 (12:30).
RAN PRISONS is currently looking for participants with relevant expertise to take part in a meeting on the role of civil society organisations (CSOs) in exit work and DDR programmes in prisons and enhancing cooperation with state actors.
Explorative meeting on dealing with problematic developments of the extreme left (22/11/2023)
Please note that this is a meeting for practitioners working in formal and informal education, including youth work.
This lunch-to-lunch meeting will take place in Rome on 22 and 23 November 2023. 22 November 13.30 - 17.30 23 November 09.00 - 13.00
For our RAN Youth & Education (Y&E) Working Group meeting, we are looking for youth workers, teachers, and other relevant experts and professionals working with youngsters. Practitioners who can provide concrete examples from their daily practices or who are facing challenges around the extreme left are invited to respond to this call for participants.
From the COVID-19 pandemic to the Russian war of aggression in Ukraine, the energy crisis, spiralling living costs, soaring heatwaves and environmental disasters, it might appear that we live in a continual state of crisis – all of which has had an impact on people’s mental health, exacerbating underlying concerns, fears, anxieties and anger. The nexus between mental health and violent extremism, and the importance of mental health as a contributing or driving factor in radicalisation and recruitment, is now increasingly being understood. In this edition of the RAN Practitioners Update we take a brief look at some of these challenges. To do this, the Update features the latest issue of the RAN Practitioners Spotlight magazine and the latest RAN Practitioners film, and highlights some of the key publications on the topic. The Update also features information on four training eventson ‘digital skills’ for practitioners.
Spotlight (19/09/2023)
The latest issue of the RAN Practitioners Spotlight magazine takes a look at the nature of the relationship between mental health and radicalisation.
The magazine explores some of the mental health issues that can lead to radicalisation, including personality disorders and childhood experiences, and discusses gender issues, training for practitioners and ethical considerations.
Film (19/09/2023)
The latest RAN Practitioners film looks at the current challenges surrounding mental health and radicalisation. To do this, Kelsey Bjornsgaard, from the RAN YOUNG platform, hosts a discussion between Eva Jimenez, co-lead of the RAN Working Group on mental health, and Despoina Limniotaki, founder of The Healing Tree community for Mental Health.
Paper (19/09/2023)
A recent paper, published by RAN Practitioners at the end of 2022, entitled ‘Personality disorders and mental illnesses with implications in PVE’, discusses the underlying dynamics of specific personality disorders and susceptibility to radicalisation leading to violent extremism. Particular attention is paid to the mechanisms and underlying dynamics of antisocial personality disorder (ASPD).
Spotlight (19/09/2023)
A RAN Practitioners Spotlight magazine, published in the summer of 2020, explored the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and the challenge of mental health vulnerabilities in prisons.
The magazine also looked at more nuanced forms of mental health P/CVE work involving ADHD and autism clients, and examined how practitioners can handle sensitive conversations.
RAN Collection (20/09/2023)
We are looking for members of the RAN expert pool to review a number of practices from the RAN Collection of Inspiring Practices – a valuable source of information and inspiration for practitioners, policymakers and researchers. The purpose of the ‘expert peer review’ is to provide advice to practice owners on how to improve the quality and impact of their projects, and to raise awareness about the need to evaluate P/CVE interventions.
RAN Practitioners Cross-Fertilisation: Young people’s perspective on timely P/CVE themes (27/09/2023)
RAN Practitioners Cross-Fertilisation: Young people’s perspective on timely P/CVE themes
Dealing with disruptive and escalating, violent ‘borderline’ protest in the realm of the police P/CVE role (28/09/2023)
Dealing with disruptive and escalating, violent ‘borderline’ protest in the realm of the police P/CVE role
How can arts, the city's civic pride, and culture contribute to boosting local resilience and democracy against extremism, hate crime, and other threats to democracy? (28/09/2023)
How can arts, the city's civic pride, and culture contribute to boosting local resilience and democracy against extremism, hate crime, and other threats to democracy?
Toolkit on dealing with conspiracy narratives (20/09/2023)
A RAN Practitioners toolkit provides practitioners with practical insights and suggestions on how to potentially work with a person who believes in conspiracy narratives. The aim of this toolkit is to explain what a conspiracy narrative exactly is, what a conspiracy narrative may offer to someone and how to help them reconsider their beliefs.
Information exchange between the 4 Ps – police, prosecution, prison and probation – in the prison management and reintegration of VETOs (20/09/2023)
A RAN PRISONS paper explores the various tools, methods and experiences related to information exchange between the 4 Ps: police, prosecution, prison and probation. The paper provides an overview of the key tools and methods which are being used, the preconditions for the implementation of good information exchange practices and recommendations for successful collaborations.
Assessing P/CVE Projects: Peer Learning and Exchange (20/09/2023)
A RAN YOUNG paper provides recommendations for the organisation of peer-to-peer exchange in P/CVE. The paper also summarises the feedback and recommendations provided by practitioners from within the RAN YOUNG network for how to improve a number of P/CVE projects and incorporate a youth perspective.
EU-funded projects on P/CVE (19/09/2023)
We would like to ask members of the RAN Practitioners network to help us to identify a wide range of current EU-funded projects which address many different aspects of P/CVE. The goal of this survey is to identify, select and disseminate project insights, outputs and results – including relevant studies, reports, tools and methodologies – among the network and beyond. Selected projects will be showcased in future editions of the RAN Practitioners Update.
Digital skills for first-line practitioners in P/CVE (17/10/2023)
RAN Practitioners will be delivering a series of training events in four locations across Europe, in October and November 2023, for practitioners who want to ‘get online’. The training on ‘digital skills’ will give participants the opportunity to learn about the latest digital technologies and innovations (such as AI), to learn how to use a range of digital platforms and social media channels, and examine ways of adopting such technologies and platforms (for P/CVE).
