2023 was a busy year for RAN Practitioners: nine Working Groups met regularly, both online and in person, throughout the year; a series of study visits, thematic events and webinars enabled practitioners to exchange insights and experiences on a range of cross-cutting topics; a new training programme on ‘digital skills’ was piloted; RAN YOUNG welcomed a new intake of young professionals; new projects were added to the Collection of Inspiring Practices; and over 40 papers were published. So as we start a new year, we look back at some of this activity and look ahead at what might be in store for the year to come. To do this, we feature the latest edition of the RAN Practitioners Spotlight magazine and the latest episode of The View.
2023
The final Spotlight magazine of 2023 takes a look back at some of the emerging P/CVE challenges that have arisen and some of the key events that have taken place. The publication also provides a summary of some of the key activities that have been delivered, including the European Remembrance Day for Victims and Survivors of Terrorism, the new intake of young professionals into the RAN YOUNG Platform and the RAN Practitioners Plenary.
The sixth episode of The View takes a look at some of the emerging threats at the end of 2023. A panel of three leading experts in P/CVE – Virginie Andre from the International Center for Counter-Terrorism (ICCT), Kelsey Bjornsgaard from the Strong Cities Network and Peter Neumann from the International Centre for the Study of Radicalisation (ICSR) – discuss the impact of the conflict in Gaza upon communities in Europe and the evolving tech challenge.
Plenary
The discussions and outcomes of the RAN Practitioners Plenary, which was held in Brussels in October 2023, have been summarised in a paper published on the RAN Practitioners website. The paper provides an overview of the opening presentation on the mental health of practitioners; a summary of the overarching topics for 2024; and a breakdown of the focus for each Working Group for next year.
Upcoming events
Stay tuned to the Calendar page on the RAN Practitioners website for updates on meetings which will take place in 2024.
Projects
icommit
The two-year icommit project, funded by the European Commission’s Internal Security Fund, developed models, tools, and training courses to improve collaboration between different stakeholders involved in disengagement and reintegration (D&R) and to strengthen their preparedness in P/CVE, with regards to both violent right-wing extremism (VRWE) and Islamist extremism (VIE).
The project did this through two strands of activity. The first provided training and mentorship to multi-stakeholder collaboration (MSC) teams in eight cities to further develop their collaborations, including around efforts to improve media literacy or foster social cohesion. The second provided support to caseworkers in structuring their cases, as well as communicating about the counselling process.
To find out more about the project goals, methodology and the participating cities, and to access the various manuals and toolkits produced by the project – including the DesistKit, a set of tools developed for professionals working closely with individuals holding extremist views or showing extremist behaviour – you can visit the project website here.
Publications
How can arts, civic pride and culture contribute to boosting local resilience and democracy against extremism?
A recent paper from last year, explores the extent to which local authorities can leverage art and culture as instruments for preventing and countering various forms of (violent) extremism, as well as boosting local resilience in order to prevent other phenomena threatening a democratic system like hate crimes, political violence and polarisation.
Enhancing the cooperation between mental health practitioners and security forces in P/CVE
A recent paper discusses the importance of and possibilities for enhancing the needed cooperation between the mental health and security sectors in the prevention and countering of violent extremism (P/CVE). The paper provides case studies of cooperation and information and exchange from Denmark and The Netherlands.
Contact us
RAN Practitioners is implemented by RadarEurope, which is a subsidiary of the RadarGroup:
- Phone: +31 (0)20 468 06 08 (office)
- E-Mail: ran
radareurope [dot] nl (ran[at]radareurope[dot]nl)
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