“NETWORK FOR THE EXCHANGE OF GOOD PRACTICES ON THE INTEGRATION OF YOUNGSTERS AT RISK OF RADICALISATION THROUGH SPORTS”
Nowadays, an increasing number of European countries and international organisations use the power of sport and physical activities, as a tool to empower the young generation and instil them the values, to prevent their descent into a life of violent extremism and crime. According, the European Commission has developed the “supporting the prevention of radicalisation leading to violent extremism” communication (COM (2016) 379), as part of the framework on EU counter-terrorist policy, in which prevention is considered as one of the 4 pillars to achieve a safer Europe.
Despite the fact that, there are several projects based on social inclusion of youth at risk and also on sport as a tool for peace and development, most of these initiatives are treated as separated items when it comes to the prevention of radicalisation.
Radical (Ex)Change is a 2-year (January 2021 – December 2022), EU Preparatory Action funded by the Directorate-General for Education and Culture – Unit C4 (Sport), which aims at developing a collaborative network amongst the organisations working on Sport for Development and Peace and those engaged in the prevention of marginalisation and radicalisation (through sport or not).
The project intends to collect relevant good practices in 5 participant countries, Spain, Italy, Belgium, Greece and the United Kingdom, developed in the field of ‘sport for development and peace’, adapt and transfer them to address the issue of radicalisation and violent extremism, by giving priority to communities where social inclusion and sports are still treated as separated items. All activities will be coordinated by the International Olympic Truce Centre (IOTC), which is based in Athens, Greece.
| Project Partner | Activities Implementation Country |
| UIB | Spain |
| ICSS Insight – Save the Dream | United Kingdom |
| EMCA | Belgium |
| ICSS Insight – Save the Dream | Italy |
| IOTC | Greece |
The following specific objectives will be reached through the project:
- Identification of potential participants in the network and development of the group of experts in preventing radicalization through sports.
- Development of focus groups activities, in which experts from NGOs and other grassroot organisations, related to social inclusion through sports, will discuss and share knowledge with experts on the prevention of violent extremism, regarding the detection of risks of radicalisation and prevention by using sport as a tool for social inclusion.
- Development of a Handbook, which will include guidance from professionals (in 5 European countries), grassroots associations, counselling and education boards, NGOs and municipalities, working with youngsters at risk, on how to adapt their methodology to use sport as a tool for prevention and integration.
- Creation of a transnational network by setting a horizontal framework, between local governments associations, non-profit organisations and private sector agents to export this methodology to other European countries.
- Assuring the sustainability of the originated network for further and wider interactions after the finalisation of the project.
More specifically, through your involvement in the project, you will contribute to the following objectives:
- Identification of potential participants in the network and development of the group of experts in preventing radicalization through sports.
After the identification of the potential participants, the partners are expected to organise 5 expert national focus groups in 5 different EU countries (Spain, Italy, Belgium, Greece and the United Kingdom). Then, taking into consideration, the results from each focus group, a one-day transnational conference will be organised in the UK with the involvement of a minimum of 15 participants.
- Handbook compiling good practices and activities for the use of sports as a tool of integration for youngsters at risk.
The handbook will be tested in two European municipalities or local public organizations, during 3 months to update and Call 2020, Monitoring and coaching, through sports, of youngsters at risk of radicalisation and improve the contents for further implementation in different communities and territories.
- Capacity-building Courses: “Preventing Radicalization Processes through the Practice of Sports”.
Finally, local agents (NGOs grassroots associations, municipalities and local sport institutions) either working with communities at risk, or developing sport for peace programmes, will be invited to participate in seminars in order to acquire the necessary skills to include sports in their ongoing social inclusion projects. It is expected that each participant will gather approximately 15 representatives in their local event, assuring a wide social impact and a proper representation of the territory.
