Intersubjective Body Mapping to Promote Reintegration of Foreign Terrorist Fighters

The foundation Upatanisho [Kiswahili, noun: reconciliation] aims to address challenges in reintegration, including understanding and trust, between returning Foreign Terrorist Fighters (FTFs), victims and survivors of terrorism, law enforcement practitioners and community members.

We work towards a cohesive society where community resilience, local ownership and capability facilitate mutual trust and understanding between community members, victims, survivors, offenders and security actors to prevent and counter violent extremism.

Upatanisho provides technical assistance and capacity building through innovative and artistic means and methods, for strengthening inclusion, reintegration and reconciliation as well as prevention, identification and countering of violent extremism.

Type of Organisation: Foundation Registered Foundation in Sweden.

The intersubjective body mapping methodology (Mykkanen, 2022) is an exploratory art-based method to advance dialogue and address challenges in reintegration, including understanding and trust, between returning Foreign Terrorist Fighters (FTFs), victims/survivors of terrorism, law enforcement practitioners and community members.

The body mapping workshops and sessions, conducted with aforementioned groups jointly or separately, are guided by theoretically and contextually informed thematic areas/prompts, in relation to reintegration and countering violent extremism. The participants choose and use colors, symbols and images to represent, visualize and explore their internal experiences as part of reintegration and countering violent extremism, and their experiences of the same in relation to the society. This reflective process, of articulating reasons and significance for specific choices and preferences of colors and symbols while creating the body maps, is found to defy linear narratives and invite developing connections between past experiences.

The methodology allows for participants to move beyond biases and limitations of language in supporting the effective development and implementation of policies and strategies for successful reintegration of returning FTFs. It allows for communication regarding the embodied experience beyond verbal expression - in a way previously unexplored – and allows a non-conflictual means for communication between all actors and stakeholders involved in rehabilitation and reintegration. While the methodology serves to enhance understanding for the self and others, which correlates with trust, it is used to communicate empirical knowledge beyond conventional means.

N/A – subsequent phases to follow.

Contact person: Tina Mykkanen
Telephone: +46 702 115 801 / +25 474 315 5700
tinamykkanengmail [dot] com (Email) | Website