ORPHEUS - Offline and online Radicalisation Prevention Holding Back Extremism and Upholding Security

The project’s aim was to develop new approaches to foster resilience in young people, within both online and offline prevention.

The primary audience for the project are young people (aged 12 – 25)  in general, with specific attention to more vulnerable youngsters.

ORPHEUS targets the interplay of risk factors for violent extremism, always with a wellbeing perspective in mind, by seeking to: 

• strengthen positive networks for young people; 
• offer legitimate channels to young people for the public expression of their grievances; 
• promote positive alternatives to violent extremist narratives. 

You can read more about the theories and evidence behind the ORPHEUS model in the ORPHEUS Position Paper.  

The ORPHEUS model promotes an innovative, grassroots wellbeing-oriented approach to prevention. It emphasises a co-creation approach between young people and youth workers / educators, promoting the agency of young people as equal citizens in democratic societies and supporting them to be part of the solution. 

• “Safe Spaces” are an integral component of the ORPHEUS prevention model. A safe space is both a location and a set of core principles, co-created between young people and professionals they trust, to support young people to: 
  • foster connections between young people and their family, friends and institutions, strengthening their social bonds; 
  • engage in open dialogue; 
  • be empowered to publicly express their grievances.  
• Empowering young people to be safe in online spaces, with the critical literacy skills to identify propaganda and build resilience to attempts at ideological grooming, is a key component of the ORPHEUS model. The project developed a training course on online safety and cyber-awareness aimed at supporting young people to more effectively evaluate information they encounter online, understand the impact of cognitive bias and think more critically about free speech, privacy and the role of the media. 
• ORPHEUS emphasises the promotion of positive alternatives to violent extremist narratives. A series of 12 short ‘alter-narrative’ movies have been developed, aimed at young people, with the intention of raising critical awareness and stimulating debate, exploring topics such as immigration, youth culture, critical literacy and race and ethnicity, which will be available to watch on the ORPHEUS website. Additionally, a guidance manual was developed to support content creators to develop their own alter-narrative films. 
• The ORPHEUS-toolkit includes five training modules to support professionals in developing the skills and confidence to create safe spaces. These are designed to be flexible and adaptable according to local needs and contexts. Each course consists of a comprehensive manual to support the individual delivering the training, additional supporting material such as handouts and slides, and a resource pack to be distributed to professionals who complete the training. The topics covered by the training modules are:
  • Dealing with Controversial Issues 
  • Strengthening Personal Safety in Safe Spaces 
  • Moral Panic, Youth and Counter Culture 
  • Critical Literacy and Online Awareness 
  • Get Up Stand Up: Supporting Young People In Their Struggle Against Injustice 

The ORPHEUS-project has ended, but the results and outputs are available online through the link where more in dept evaluation is available. 

• 96% of young people who completed a survey after taking part in a safe space session reported decreased levels of social alienation;
• 95% of young people who participated in online safety / cyber-awareness training who completed a survey indicated they had increased their levels of cyber-awareness;
• 90% of professionals who took part in a training session and completed a survey reported increased confidence in relation to topic-specific competencies and 83% reported increased confidence in competencies relevant to the ORPHEUS model generally. 

All outcomes and developed materials can be consulted and downloaded on the project’s website in 3 languages (NL, FR, ENG)

Lessons learned/recommendations for practitioners

General Prevention: Prevent Risk with a Broad and Positive Approach  

1. Develop the safe spaces concept; 
2. Measure the needs of young people through active dialogue;
3. Establish and preserve partnerships with Civil Society Organisations (CSOs); 
4. Establish a prevention network or join an existing one.

Specific Prevention: Reduce Risk by Directly Responding to Risk Factors  

5. Develop safe spaces to tackle the interplay of risk factors;
6. Train professionals to raise their confidence and skills in addressing risk factors; 
7. Support young people and professionals in discussing controversial issues;
8. Support young people in their struggle against injustice; 
9. Emphasise the agency of young people in prevention work; 
10. Support young people to develop their critical literacy and online awareness; 
11. Promote positive alternatives to violent extremist narratives.

The 11 ORPHEUS policy recommendations are elaborated in chapter V of the Strategic Report which can be found through this link.