Call for participants: RAN C&N meeting on ‘Preventive campaigning using biographical experiences of both victims and survivors of terrorism as well as formers’

For the RAN Practitioners C&N Working Group meeting on ‘Preventive campaigning using biographical experiences of both victims and survivors of terrorism as well as formers’ we are looking for victims, survivors and formers as well as first-line practitioners and strategic communication experts.

Individuals susceptible to extremist ideologies, disinformation, and conspiracy narratives often engage with this material from an emotional standpoint and a desire for a sense of belonging.  Extremist ideologies, disinformation and conspiracies also play into emotion. Following this reasoning, it would make sense to include more emotionally charged content in P/CVE campaigns. This meeting focuses on the power of testimonials from both victims/survivors and formers to change minds and offer new perspectives. However, this is a sensitive topic, and there have also been lessons learned in the past. During this meeting, we will reflect on this topic and speak about possible guidelines for campaigners and P/CVE practitioners, communication experts, formers and victims/survivors on how to include narratives of formers and survivors into effective P/CVE interventions. Crucially, this meeting will discuss where this is not appropriate, also keeping in mind the possibility of secondary trauma.

Target group

For this meeting we are looking for several types of participants:

• Communication experts or campaigners engaging in P/CVE work,
• Former extremists who are now engaging in P/CVE efforts,
• EXIT workers who work with former extremists,
• Victims/survivors of terrorism who are now engaging in P/CVE efforts,
• Councillors working with formers and/or victims and/or survivors.

Context

The main goal of this meeting is to identify when and how it is appropriate to include formers and victims/survivors in preventive campaigns in P/CVE work. A secondary goal is to identify how preventive campaigns can be improved by working with formers and victims/survivors in an appropriate way. Following the ‘do no harm’ principle, we will discuss the best way to include victims, survivors and formers, while preventing negative side effects for them (and in general). We should mention here that the goal of the meeting is not to improve the support for victims, survivors and formers; rather the meeting is explicitly focused on the effectiveness of the beforementioned campaigns.

We do realise the sensitivity of this topic in regard to our potential participants. To accommodate this, we will make sure to enquire beforehand about any specifics to take into account (i.e. topics, imagery etc. that should be avoided). Also, we will take extra care to select suitable participants, especially formers and victims/survivors who might register, and to anticipate potential sensitivities between participants. As working with formers and victims/survivors is sensitive, ethical aspects around this will also be a topic of discussion during the meeting.

From a P/CVE campaign perspective, it is relevant to look at working with both formers and victims/survivors as they can both be credible messengers for the target audience of a campaign. Moreover, extremist ideologies and conspiracy narratives underlying them often play into emotions to get their message across. Biographical stories of victims/survivors and formers can do this as well and can thus enhance the effectiveness of a P/CVE campaign.

We will build on earlier meetings and developments in the field and hope to be able to take the next steps in describing guidelines and standards for working with victims, survivors and formers in P/CVE campaigns, including ethical aspects.

Background information

The topics of credible messengers, emotional communication and emotional resilience were also frequently discussed during the RAN Practitioners Plenary 2022. This meeting builds upon the needs expressed by the C&N constituency during the RAN Practitioners Plenary 2022. Furthermore, it builds on several previous RAN meetings and papers:

• The RAN Reporters video report on ‘Spanish victims of terrorist attacks working in school to prevent radicalisation (YouTube)’.
• RAN C&N Working Group meeting, Effective Narratives: Updating the GAMMMA+ model, Brussels 14-15 November 2019.
• RAN RVT & RAN EXIT, ‘The role of restorative justice in preventing and responding to violent extremism’, Dublin 03-04 December 2019
• RAN VoT and C&N Conclusions, ‘How to involve victims of terrorism in a prevention campaign’, online meeting, 11 June 2020.

Relevant questions

• When and how could the narratives of the biographical experiences of survivors and former extremists be used effectively and sensitively for P/CVE? And when not?
• What sensitivities of both groups (formers and survivors) should be taken into consideration when including them in P/CVE interventions?
• How can we ensure the prevention of secondary trauma when including victims and survivors in P/CVE campaigns?
• What ethical standards should be adhered to when including victims/survivors and/or formers in P/CVE interventions/campaigns?
• What is a realistic goal for P/CVE campaigns when involving victims/survivors and formers?
• In what ways could both formers and victims/survivors be included in a single P/CVE intervention/campaign? What extra considerations does this bring? Would it bring synergy or would it only complicate things?

Deadline and practical information

If you are interested in participating in this meeting, please fill in the registration form.

Please fill in the form before Friday May 5. We will invite participants (and contributors) based on the answers provided and the order of registration. Please note we will pay extra attention when selecting potential participants to invite because of the sensitivity of the topic and the groups of participants we are aiming to invite.

As this is a sensitive topic, we will try to accommodate the wishes of the participants whenever we can. We will get in touch before the meeting to ask about any sensitivities we should be aware of during the meeting.