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This advanced e-course aims to train professionals working with young people who are at risk of violent radicalisation with an emphasis on online grooming. It introduces the concept of violent radicalisation and teaches how to effectively prevent violent radicalisation by adopting positive approaches.

The e-course is structured around 5 modules. Each Module is composed of 4-5 Units. A module involves 2-3 hours of learning.

Certification, Accessibility and supporting material

Successful completion will lead to CPD (Continuous Professional Development) Certification (15 points). It takes approximately 15 non-stop hours to fully complete all modules and take the test. There are further reading material that are recommended for additional learning. These could add a further 10 hours of non-stop duration.

The e-course includes software that make it accessible in various languages as well as for those with visual and hearing impairments. This course interactive tools are based on H5P. To learn more; overview of the accessibility of the various H5P content types.

Training handbook and supporting e-book

The e-course is supported by a free, evidenced based Training Handbook as well as the ebook RADEX (2022) Research findings on violent youth radicalisation in the UK, Cyprus, France, Greece and Belgium, London: RJ4All Publications, ISBN: 978-1-911634-54-6

Target Groups

● Professionals (including volunteers) working with youths
● Professionals working in youth organisations and community centres
● Practitioners working in the crime prevention area especially the youth justice system
● Youth workers
● Youth educators and trainers who support young people at risk
● Youth organisations
● Young people and parents.

Learning Objectives

By the end of the e-course, the following learning outcomes should have been achieved:

● Use of inquiry-based and problem-based learning approaches.
● Accommodate multiple learning styles (work and project-based learning, collaborative learning).
● Contextualize learning to meet the needs of youth in different contexts.
● Provide authentic learning opportunities.
● Present the content in modular small chunks that will be able to provide just in time learning.
● Preparation of learning activities to be carried out either synchronously or asynchronously.
● Provision of best practices.

This event took place on several days and was meant to train partners on youth radicalisation and to give a final update of the level of progress of the work related to the project. Having just concluded this training, we are pleased to share the results of this exciting event!

In the premises of our partner Synthesis in the heart of Cyprus in Nicosia, we had a series of theoretical courses, discussions and activities, all centered on the theme of youth radicalisation. 

This time started with a workshop of expression and dialogue around the notion of radicalisation, its main components and its different types. All participants, two from each consortium member organisation and others invited by our host, Synthesis, were able to speak up and share their experiences and knowledge on the subject. Then, they then asked themselves about the positive approach towards prevention of violent radicalisation, a theory that has governed the design of the online course we have been preparing for months. This reminder led to exciting discussions on the topic of radicalisation, which our interest in this subject brought us together during these few days. 

As the LTTA was also organized to present each module to the other partners, all were invited to present their work, directly in face-to-face “class” conditions. The people who were present expressed their observations and remarks, allowing final adjustments to the modules, which will be put online shortly. Each module presentation was concluded by a workshop or a participative activity, where the participants evaluated their own resilience capacities, updated the stereotypes they were subject to in their everyday life, learned to recognise the first signs of youth radicalisation. 

This event represented the last meeting of partners before the release of the course and was a perfect opportunity to share thoughts on the project as a whole, enabling participants to enter the last phase with ease and enthusiasm. 

A 3-day training on the topic of youth violent radicalisation directed at youth workers and other professionals working with youths will be given in Cyprus from 30th August to 1st September! 

Each partner of the RADEX consortium is sending two representatives into the premises of Synthesis in Nicosia, to deliver and receive training on the project’s topic. It will also serve as a final update on the developed course and its newly made modules. The importance of the learning activity to the RADEX project lies in the creation of a transnational group of like-minded professionals from the partner countries, to ensure that the online training, the modules, and the digital alert tool are transferred to the target group in accordance with the initial idea and design of the modules. 

What are our objectives with this event? 

The aim of the training is to support future training iteration, and to sample a training example, which will be complemented by the online course. In detail, the main objectives are to increase the partners’ knowledge about youth violent radicalisation and the effects of a positive approach towards it. It is also about learning about existing initiatives, EU programmes and other projects on the topic of radicalisation, about practical examples and case studies to understand and to identify radicalisation signs, and act before, during, and after they appear in a positive manner. Overall, this training intends to improve stakeholders’ skills through learning activities and exchange of good practices to ensure quality training and to build a network of knowledge-compatible individuals.

How will it work?

First, this meeting of partners will be the opportunity to briefly revise the current state of the project and its work done so far. Through the presentation of the project, of the online course and a workshop about the notion of radicalisation, all participants will share their thoughts and observations with their peers. The event will be followed by the presentation of each of the 5 modules by the representatives of the partner responsible for its part of the course:

• Critical Thinking and online content Filtering to prevent radicalisation
• Positive political participation
• Strengthening youth resilience through creative thinking
• A positive prevention approach: The strengthening of the resilience of young people and a positive identity formation
• Understanding radicalisation: from theory to practice.

The other participants will be able to follow this module on a model close to the one that will be available on the online course of the project. The face-to-face format will allow for group activities on case studies and scenarios, to trigger debates and stimulate discussions. 

We will let you know how it goes!

After finalising our respective modules, we presented them on Thursday 21 July to Mr. Eric Poinsot, responsible for the prevention of radicalisation and violent extremism for the city and the Eurometropole of Strasbourg.

The project partners of the RADEX project were present: Ioanna Athinodorou for Synthesis ; Aikaterini Kalafati Michailaki for RJ4All ; and Giulia Sostero (with her trainees : Pierre-Henri and Sélim) for ALDA.

        How did the meeting go? First, Aikaterini (for RJ4All), project coordinator of the RADEX project, presented her module, explaining precisely the notions mobilised in it, namely the Digital resilience, the Positive approach and the Good Lives model. Then, Giulia (for ALDA) accompanied by her two trainees, presented their module which dealt more specifically with Positive Political Participation. Finally, Ioanna (for Synthesis) closed the presentations, presenting her own module, which was about understanding radicalisation, from theory to practice including real life case studies.
Mr. Poinsot then had the chance to give his feedback and added remarks.

        What does Mr.Poinsot think of the modules? Mr. Poinsot appreciated our modules, after having had a comprehensive overview of our approach. Indeed, he provided us with valuable feedback and some advice, such as a reflection on the difference between resilience and resistance. He concluded the meeting by presenting his work, explaining that he is in charge of preventing violent radicalisation in the city of Strasbourg, that it is difficult in its function to act at the local and municipal level, and that interventions should necessarily be coordinated at the municipal level. Mr.Poinsot gave details of the national context (in France) in order to understand the specific position of Strasbourg approaches on radicalisation.

He explained that policies in the field of Preventing / Countering Violent Extremism (P/CVE) in France is a young public policy, the first national plan was adopted in 2014 (which is quite late, according to him, compared to countries like the UK). Secondly,P/CVE in France is very centralized under the authority of State agencies (both nationally and locally). Local authorities have a more marginal role to play than other countries such as Denmark or Belgium. Thirdly, P/CVE tends to be quite securitised in France: security is very central to P/CVE approaches. Finally, according to Mr. Poinsot, in France policies about Preventing / Countering Violent Extremism are centered on one type of radicalisation, which is jihadist radicalisation (jihadism). It’s been so since 2014, and still largely the case, whereas in other countries they try to address all sorts of radicalisations (especially right-wing radicalisation).

        What is the next step? The organisation of the local events in each of the partner countries! 

The future online course of RADEX project will soon be functional and operational, and can be used independently and partially, depending on the needs and availability of the users, so keep following us not to miss any information.

The RADEX consortium has produced a video to summarise the findings of the project’s research on youth violent radicalisation in the UK, France, Belgium, Cyprus and Greece.

You can find the full version (in English) and executive summary (in English, French, Dutch, Greek and German) of our publications released a few weeks ago here.

Have a look at our video and let us know what you think!

As previously announced, the RADEX consortium has produced a comprehensive report of the research phase of the project. This included the findings on youth violent radicalisation from 5 countries the UK, Belgium, France, Greece and Cyprus.

What is it about? Our research considered both online and offline youth radicalisation patterns, comprising literature reviews, interviews, focus groups, discourse analysis and online research on social media, apps and chatrooms. Therefore, the report contributes as a summary of general trends of research studies, but also as an in-depth analysis of social network research.

Why should you read it? the comprehensive report provides us with hints on how, when and where young people become objects of radicalisation. At the same time, it identifies strengths and positive skills that young people can use in their benefit to build a stronger fence against radicalisation. The research includes a specific focus on the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on the radicalisation processes.

Why do we need it? More than a simple state of the art of youth violent radicalisation in the 5 target countries, it will serve as a basis of the main project output: an e-course about positive skills youth can develop to prevent radicalisation, directed to youth workers and educators.

Is there a shorter version? Look no further, the RADEX consortium also produced an executive summary in 5 different languages, you can find them here:

RADEX comprehensive report: Research findings on youth violent radicalisation between 5 countries

In the framework of the RADEX project, the consortium of partners have produced a comprehensive report including the research findings on youth violent radicalisation in the UK, Belgium, France, Greece and Cyprus.

Our research considered both online and offline youth radicalisation patterns, comprising literature reviews, interviews, focus groups, discourse analysis and online research on social media, apps and chatrooms. Therefore, the report contributes as a summary of general trends of research studies, but also as an in-depth analysis of social network research.

Thus, the comprehensive report provides us with hints on how, when and where young people become objects of radicalisation. At the same time, it identifies strengths and positive skills that young people can use in their benefit to build a stronger fence against radicalisation. The research includes a specific focus on the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on the radicalisation processes.

The report will be out soon! The release is scheduled for January 2022 on RADEX website. The summary will be available in English, French, Dutch and Greek.

Stay posted if you want to discover the details of our findings.

Why this report? More than a simple state of the art of youth violent radicalisation in the 5 target countries, it will serve as a basis of the main project output: an e-course about positive skills youth can develop to prevent radicalisation, directed to youth workers and educators.

The RADEX consortium is already working on it, keep following us not to miss its release!

On the 5^th of October (finally!) we had the chance to hold our first in-person meeting in Brussels. It gave us the opportunity to assess the project’s progress and to further focus on its objectives. We agreed on the fact that we all want to bring a more positive approach to youth radicalisation and change the narrative around it. In fact, the current common approach to youth violent radicalisation often revolves around the detection of warning signs rather than youth empowerment, which is what we believe it is important to focus on.

What’s next?

First, we want to further develop our research and data collection on online and offline youth violent radicalisation in our target countries (the UK, France, Belgium, Greece and Cyprus). It will allow us to work efficiently on pedagogical tools and to design a methodological framework for the creation of educational resources and materials that inform, educate and deconstruct the beneficiaries’ bias.

The following step will be the development of an online platform that will include a broad collection of materials such as modules on youth violent radicalisation and practical exercises to help youth educators work on the skills and capacities youth can develop to divert from violent radicalisation.

In December, we will publish the country reports and the overall report on youth violent radicalisation in our target countries. Keep following us for the next updates!

Did you know that radicalisation and indoctrination processes may start as early as 11 – 12 years old and that extreme militant groups’ main target is thought to be young people between 16 – 24 years?

The RADEX project partners will meet on 5th October in Brussels to work together on the diffusion of country reports and the creation of methodological tools to prevent youth violent radicalisation.

Stay tuned for our training programme and learn more through the #RADEXproject! #radex #radicalisation #youth #ErasmusPlus #indoctrination #training #learning

We published a survey with the aim to collect real data and information with regards to how, when and where violent radicalisation of young people happens online and offline. These data will be used to provide for a set of vulnerability indicators, and a set of radicalisation indicators for young people. The survey targets experts, front line professionals, officials, youth workers and any professional with experience in working with this target group.

Take the survey here:

Officials: https://forms.gle/oLocGpQjLsBCSfM6A

Youth: https://forms.gle/Vu2Tg13sTKWYexmA7

The estimated duration of the survey is 15-20 minutes.

The answers received are confidential and will be used for the purposes of the RADEX project. For any questions you might have, please contact Mrs. Sofia Tsiortou, sofia@tsiortos.com, CLUB UNESCO, Greece.