The HOPE Radicalisation Network provides a space full of relevant resources for professionals to prevent and counter violent extremism and tools to promote intersectoral collaboration.
Extremism and radicalisation are phenomena with various intersecting layers of ideologies, motives, and personal history. Experts and practitioners working in P/CVE need to account for these variables in a shifting global panorama and develop an in-depth knowledge of practices that work. A greater degree of involvement allows them to apply measures adjusted to the current needs, hence contributing to a successful intervention.
Radicalisation and violent extremism prevention: Joint efforts to achieve better and quantified results
With these needs in mind, the HOPE project proposed and developed the HOPE Radicalisation Network. The new network provides a hub for continuous training and knowledge sharing between multidisciplinary stakeholders.
The main goal is to support progress in the general understanding and expertise of the field.
To this end, the HOPE Radicalisation Network members get access to over 300 literature resources to read and download, including reports, scientific articles, handbooks, manuals, and international strategies.
Nearly 60 categories house the network’s searchable resources, which have the potential to improve the expertise in broad subjects such as prevention initiatives, risk assessment, and exit strategies and programmes.
The library assets also add value to specific issues, including, for example, documents on extremist ideologies, returning foreign terrorist fighters, best and promising practices, crime-terror nexus, and multi-agency cooperation.
Users in the HOPE Radicalisation Network can also suggest new resources to add to this shared library.
The interaction between network members is an integral part of the design. Users can comment, start and engage in conversations, share and exchange ideas, and build partnerships with other experts.
All of the 39 organisations already in the network are listed on the platform with a brief description of their involvement in P/CVE and are open to contact. Network members span governmental bodies, private entities, non-governmental organisations, research centres, and think tanks.
Similarly, the platform already involves over 60 individual members, with experts in fields such as security, human rights, prison administration, offender rehabilitation, or radicalisation. The profiles of these professionals provide helpful information about their expertise and role to facilitate peer networking.
Network members can stay on top of all initiatives related to the HOPE project in the events reserved area, including training sessions, workshops, and high-level seminars. Not only is it possible to follow and keep track of future events, but recordings of previous Transnational Thematic Workshops organised by the project are also available to get familiar with the essential themes already discussed by the network’s experts.
HOPE’s previous Transnational Thematic Workshops discussed several important themes, such as the role of criminal justice in P/CVE, far-right extremism, and multi-agency cooperation. All presentations part of these events can be explored in the network.
Access to the network is free for anyone involved in P/CVE, including prison and probation staff, community organisations’ professionals working closely with the criminal justice system, law enforcement agents, judicial practitioners, trainers, and researchers/academics working in this field. To join the network, interested users can request to sign up. After signing up, an administrator will review the details and approve the registration request.
The HOPE Radicalisation Network aims to build a strong connection between experts and practitioners of Southern, Eastern, and Balkan European countries. Gathering knowledge, training resources, and professionals in a single hub will allow continuous expertise improvement through community sharing. With a long-term strategy, the network is planned to continue supporting P/CVE efforts after the project’s lifetime.
Participation of professionals and organisations involved in radicalisation is crucial for the network’s success. This is an opportunity to be part of a joint initiative striving for safer societies by preventing radicalisation and extremism.
A holistic approach to radicalisation focused on Balkan, Southern and Eastern European countries
The HOPE Radicalisation Network is a part of the HOPE “Holistic Radicalisation Prevention Initiative” project, which strives to improve the transition from prison or probation to the community for those at risk of radicalisation or who have already been radicalised.
An online forum inside the HOPE Radicalisation Network is set up to function as a driving force for community sharing, generating, and fuelling fruitful discussions on relevant P/CVE subjects between its members.
The HOPE Initiative is led by IPS_Innovative Prison Systems (Portugal) in partnership with organisations from several countries, namely the University College of Norwegian Correctional Service (Norway), Agenfor International Foundation (Italy), the Euro-Arab Foundation for Higher Studies (Spain), the Bulgarian Association for Policy Evaluation (Bulgaria), the Bulgarian General Directorate “Execution of Sentences” (Bulgaria), the Bucharest-Jilava Penitentiary (Romania), the Helsinki Committee for Human Rights in Serbia (Serbia) and the Slovenian Probation Administration (Slovenia).
For more information about the HOPE project and the HOPE Radicalisation Network, you can visit its website.