ARMOUR

The ARMOUR project aims to support first line practitioners, parents and policy makers to help prevent radicalisation among youth. In order to address and prevent radicalisation and extremism, the project develops train-the-trainer courses and experimental labs for increasing the resilience of young people. The material as well as the webinars will be provided online in order to ensure the sustainability even after the project has ended.

Seven workshops were designed, each focusing on a topic which is seen as a possible causal factor in the process of radicalisation. The first group of workshops deal with individual skills, like coaching and parenting, critical thinking and anger management. The second group focuses on relational skills by looking at narratives and identity, conflict management and debating. The last topic is on proportional state response. All seven workshops were tested with first line practitioners in experimental laboratories conducted across six European Member States (Greece, Italy, the Netherlands, Malta, Spain, and Romania).

Based on these findings, a three-day Train the Trainer (TTT) course is currently being created in which the seven workshops are presented. On one hand, it is meant for first line practitioners to get acquainted with the TTT to be able to give the training themselves; on the other hand, it is a way to introduce participants to the seven workshops should they be willing to give the workshops themselves. However, the TTT can also serve as an opportunity for first line practitioners to get to know more about radicalisation and its causal factors and to experience examples of possible exercises to address these causal factors.

The seven workshops are further described in terms of methodology, timing, objective, input, and output. Each provides more in-depth explanation of the concepts applied and offers specific exercises. These exercises are designed to support better understanding of the topics, to identify or map the problems, and to help solving these problems.

It is recommended to carry them out on a regular basis in order to be effective and reach the desired results. Examples of the exercises will give a good impression of the way they assist in reaching the goals of each workshop. The materials for the workshops will be published in several languages on the First-Line-Practitioners platform.

To complement this effort and the accompanying workshops, an e-learning training is offered on the Hermes Training platform. It serves to inform on the concept of radicalisation, the action perspective of the first line practitioner, various best practices and ways to evaluate preventive measures.

Links

https://armourproject.eu/

http://www.firstlinepractitioners.com 

Keywords

Prevention, resilience, polarization, radicalisation, extremism, workshop, training