IPS Supports EU Knowledge Hub with training on radicalisation prevention

IPS joined the training team of the EU Knowledge Hub on Prevention of Radicalisation, delivering three training sessions to newcomers in Helsinki, Paris, and Athens.

The training programme – “Prevention and countering of radicalisation leading to violent extremism and terrorism for newcomers” – is part of the broader mission of the EU Knowledge Hub to strengthen the EU’s response to radicalisation by consolidating and disseminating knowledge and supporting Member States in the development of effective strategies and practices.

Aimed at newcomers to the P/CVE field, such as policymakers, practitioners, and researchers with less than three years of experience, the training sessions focused on building foundational knowledge, exchanging practical insights, and supporting participants in developing effective, evidence-based approaches in their home countries.

Throughout the sessions, Pedro Liberado, who is the Chief Research Officer and Coordinator of the Radicalisation, Violent Extremism and Organised Crime Portfolio at IPS, and Vânia Sampaio, Consultant & Researcher and Head of Unit for Security and Criminal Justice Cooperation at the same portfolio, had the opportunity to reflect on, discuss, and share valuable insights into themes that have been a major focus at IPS for several years:

How the EU policy changed throughout the years to today’s priorities.
P/CVE-related conceptual definitions.
How the radicalisation process evolves potentially leading to violent extremist or terrorist acts.
Early identification of individual and social vulnerabilities.
How to build resilience to extremist viewpoints.
Fostering an evidence-based evaluation culture on P/CVE amongst their actors.

Over the years, IPS has dedicated considerable effort to exploring these themes, contributing to numerous projects focused on preventing radicalisation. It was a pleasure for IPS to share its expertise with policymakers, practitioners, and researchers, many of whom were engaging with this topic for the first time in their careers.

About the EU Knowledge Hub on Prevention of Radicalisation

This initiative is led by NTU International A/S (Denmark) with IPS Innovative Prison Systems (Portugal) among its key partners, which include the Polish Platform for Homeland Security, the Euro-Arab Foundation for Higher Studies (FUNDEA, Spain), the Center for Security Studies (KEMEA – Hellenic Ministry of Citizen Protection), the Hellenic Foundation for European and Foreign Policy, the European Research and Project Office (EURICE, Greece), Deep Blue, the European Centre of Studies and Initiatives (CESIE, Italy), and the Romanian National Intelligence Academy “Mihai Viteazul”.

The EU Knowledge Hub on Prevention of Radicalisation, guided by the European Commission (DG Home), will focus on supporting EU Member States and stakeholders in the development and implementation of effective strategies to combat radicalisation. Its core mission is to consolidate and disseminate knowledge and expertise as well as to support Member States in developing strategies and practices in this field. This initiative builds upon the foundational work of the Radicalisation Awareness Network (RAN), initiated by the Commission in 2011.

An additional training session is scheduled for September, this time taking place in Warsaw, Poland. Learn more about the ongoing work of the EU Knowledge Hub on the Prevention of Radicalisation here.