This seminar is part of the European VicTory project whose work focuses on understanding and tackling (violent) extremism and hatred in a holistic, victim-centred way, seeking to ensure that victims’ rights are respected and secondary victimisation is avoided.
Funded by the European Commission’s E-Justice, the project identifies existing legislation, protocols, practices and initiatives around victim support in Europe, with the aim of examining their effectiveness and challenges, especially whether there are those tailored to victims of incidents related to hate and violent extremism, taking into account the perspective of victims, as well as examining other initiatives focused on supporting different types of victims, which can be transferable and adaptable.
VicTory also promotes and guides the implementation of restorative practices, with the aim of raising awareness and empowering practitioners, communities and victims themselves to successfully engage in them, thereby improving victims’ access to justice and key support.
The European project PARTES, in which the Euro-Arab Foundation participates, has launched a new video to raise awareness of one of its main objectives: preserving places of worship as timeless symbols of faith, history and cultural heritage.
The PARTES consortium notes that in order to effectively counter security threats to synagogues, mosques or churches, it is essential to understand the underlying violent extremist phenomenon and its specific manifestations in relation to these targets. There is also a need to engage religious communities in policy and action and to educate the general public about toxic extremist rhetoric, but also about the specific characteristics and manifestations of the various faiths. To raise awareness on this issue, PARTES is publishing a series of videos that can be viewed on this Youtube channel.
About PARTES
The PARTES project started in 2023 and was born in a context of increasing attacks and hate crimes against places of worship in Europe and around the world. Mosques and synagogues are particularly affected, although Christian places of worship have also been targeted. The threat landscape has become even more complex with the growing number of online hate crimes and cyber-attacks, sometimes combined with offline campaigns.
These attacks are only a symptom of a wider violent extremist phenomenon that is on the rise in Europe, fuelled by toxic extremist rhetoric, ignorance of other religions and cultures, and insufficient involvement of society at large in preventing extremism. While the authorities provide some protection and security support, existing measures need to be strengthened and improved. The phenomenon needs to be addressed in a more complex way that goes beyond architectural security and police presence.
If you are interested in participating in the European project ReBel (Redesign Belonging) and submitting your project to the Open Call we have just launched, you should not miss one of the webinars where we will explain the context in which this project is launched, tell you more about our research and guide you through the application process. During the webinar there will also be time to ask questions about the applications.
ReBel is a project that aims to explore how design and co-creation can enrich the sense of belonging of people who have had to migrate from their home countries to Europe. The call to participate in this co-design is open to people involved in design, but also to students or creative and thinking people who have good ideas to help us to do so.
So far, we have heard from more than 200 women in Finland, Spain and the Netherlands who have shared their experiences and challenges with us. They have told us how they have to adapt their lives to a new country. They have made it clear to us that belonging is not just about ‘fitting in’ in the host country, it is about feeling valued, included and empowered.Belonging means feeling connected, to people, places and communities. For migrants this involves navigating new languages, cultures and systems while seeking inclusion and understanding.Small actions, such as inclusive activities or access to information, can make a difference.
Get involved in ReBel. Find out how by connecting to one of these webinars. Registrations here.
February 20th, 17h- 18h. March 7th, 12h- 13h. 12th March, 9h- 10h.
The European project ERASMUS + KA ADULT, whose main objective is to improve the quality and accessibility of continuing education throughout Europe, finances several activities organised by Fundación Escuela de Solidaridad, aimed at adult audiences:
From 31 January to 9 February: Movement and stage improvisation workshop in Brussels (Belgium).
From 17 to 23 February: Building community in the third age in Brindis (Italy).
23 February to 3 March: From the real to the imaginary in Florence (Italy).
To apply, please send an email to edesolidaridad@gmail.com.
Between the 15th and the 17th January, it took place in Poznan – Poland- the first Capacity Building Training Seminars “Facilitating Refugees and Asylum Seekers’ Integration through Mentoring”, organized as a strategic initiative under theIN2PREV“Law enforcement and community cooperation and training approach to prevent radicalisation by ensuring refugees’ successful inclusion” project.
This 1st 3-day in-person training CBTS was coordinated by the Polish Platform for Homeland Security (PPHS) and the Innovative Prison Systems (IPS) – members of the Consortium – and focused on developing the capacity of participants to promote and foster the successful integration of persons in refugee and asylum seeker-like situations into their host communities, particularly considering their vulnerabilities to being targeted and exploited by radicalising and extremist agents. It counted with the participation of around 45 participants, from 9 European countries: Spain, Portugal, France, Greece, Moldova, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Poland, Romania and Slovakia.
One form of integration is through mentoring. The 1st CBTS provided skills to practically utilise the IN2PREV Mentoring Programme to support persons in refugee and asylum seeker-like situations to foster social inclusion. The implementation of this mentoring programme will last 6 months, from February to July 2025, and that will be organized mainly in the 7 countries of the Consortium partners, which are: Spain, Portugal, Moldova, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Poland, Romania and Slovakia.
FUNDEA’S participation
In addition to the contribution in the preparation for the training, FUNDEA’s participation was in facilitating three sessions:
Ethical and Human Rights compliant Principles for Practitioners, that was facilitated by Rascha Albaba Acosta, Researcher and Project Officer at the foundation, whom provided guidelines for practitioners to implement a human rights-based approach when implementing mentoring programs and in other interventions as well.
Refugee and asylum seeker communities’ vulnerabilities to successful integration: The IN2PREV findings, that was facilitated online by Lucia Alonso Pérez, Researcher and Project Officer at the foundation, who presented the key findings of a study that interviewed 32 practitioners and stakeholders to identify common factors, elements and dimensions that may contribute to identifying potential indicators of the procedures and tools developed in Europe to screen radicalisation vulnerabilities among asylum seekers and refugees.
Moderation of a panel discussion with practitioners, whom presented their country experiences in the integration of refugees and asylum seekers, and best practices, challenges and lessons learnt to consider when implementing mentoring programmes. The panel discussion was moderated by Rascha Albaba Acosta, Researcher and Project Officer at the foundation.
In addition to FUNDEA participation as a Consortium partner of the IN2PREV project, three Spanish partners participated in the training, as experts in implementing integration approaches with asylum seekers and refugees in Spain, including through mentoring programmes, whom will pilot the IN2PREV mentoring programme with mentees in addition to others.
The 10th Intercepted online campaign has been launched on Human Rights Day to enhance the visibility of a human rights-based approach to combating Trafficking in Human Beings. This approach is enshrined in the Council of Europe Convention on Action against Trafficking in Human Beings, which mandates obligations to prevent trafficking, establish a comprehensive framework for the protection and assistance of victims and witnesses, and ensure effective investigation and prosecution.
The campaign emphasizes the crucial need to prioritize human rights, dignity, and safety when developing technologies that track human identity and location, particularly those utilizing biometric data. It also underscores the importance of a gender-sensitive perspective in creating safe online spaces that facilitate the reporting of violence against trafficked individuals and the development of effective policies to combat this crime.
For two days, on December 3rd and 4th, a course on “Assessment of the Risk of Radicalization and Extreme Violence: Indicators in Vulnerable Populations” was held in Madrid. The course was aimed at the Civil Guard in their role as judicial police. The training, inaugurated by Antonio Sánchez, the Executive Secretary of the Euro-Arab Foundation, was delivered by experts in the prevention of radicalization, including Javier Ruipérez, Director of the Euro-Arab Research and International Projects Department, and Daniel F. Pérez, a Euro-Arab researcher. It also included expert mental health professionals, Eva Jiménez and Susana Sánchez.
The course focused on enhancing the participants’ ability to prepare robust judicial reports in cases of radicalization and extreme violence. To this end, Euro-Arab experts addressed key issues such as models and theories of radicalization, followed by presentations on risk assessment tools and the factors and indicators that can lead to extremist violence. In addition, practical exercises with real-world cases were conducted to reinforce the acquired knowledge.
The seminar, held on November 28th and 29th at the Euro-Arab Foundation headquarters in Granada, convened leaders and experts to discuss and shape the future of strategic communication. Key discussions centered on empowering local communities with tailored tools and successful strategies from EU Member States. A diverse group of experts shared valuable insights throughout the event.
The Euro-Arab Foundation, a key member of the EU Knowledge Hub consortium, oversees the Strategic Communication (StratComms) line for the prevention of radicalization and violent extremism.
On the 28th November, Karen Latricia Hough, a researcher at the Euro-Arab Foundation met with the Executive Secretary, Petya Nestorova of the Group of Experts on Action against Trafficking in Human Beings (GRETA) at the Council of Europe in Strasbourg, to present the EU funded Horizon Europe VANGUARD project focused on fighting Trafficking in Human beings.
In particular, Hough discussed the societal impact of the project, touching on themes related to the inclusion of survivors of human trafficking in both preventative measures against human trafficking and policymaking. This is a critical aspect of combating this crime, as survivors possess unique insights and experiences that can significantly inform the design and implementation of prevention programs. Additionally, survivors’ firsthand accounts can help raise public awareness and generate empathy for victims, fostering a more supportive and understanding society.
GRETA is responsible for monitoring the implementation of the Council of Europe Convention on Action against Trafficking in Human Beings by the Parties, and the Vanguard project is an ambitious Horizon Europe project that focuses both on providing a state-of-the-art intelligence picture on current trends in human trafficking as well as the creation of advanced technological tools to fight the heinous crime in all phases of the trafficking chain.
On 19 and 20 November, the training and capacity building sessions of the European project PARTES for the protection of places of worship took place at the headquarters of the Euro-Arab Foundation for Higher Studies. Organised in collaboration with the Local Police of Murcia, these conferences allowed to share experiences and good practices, as well as to identify new opportunities to strengthen cooperation between the different institutions involved in the implementation of the project and the key actors in the protection of places of worship, such as religious communities, police forces, public authorities and civil society organisations. Participants and speakers included members of religious communities from Granada and Murcia, State Security Forces such as the Guardia Civil and Mossos d’Esquadra, as well as other key entities such as the Pluralism and Coexistence Foundation (Fundación Pluralismo y Convivencia).
Some of the most relevant results of the PARTES project are the so-called ‘PARTES Guardian Approach’, a holistic model designed in a participatory and inclusive way, which considers all relevant dimensions for the protection of places of worship and the ‘Action Sheets’, a compilation of good practices drawn from the ten countries that make up the project consortium.
PARTES is a project funded by the Internal Security Fund of the European Commission which aims to develop a comprehensive prevention model for the protection of places of worship in the European Union through an empirical, inclusive and participatory methodology in order to prevent hate crimes against religious communities. As part of its priorities, the project has developed awareness-raising campaigns, evaluated and exchanged good practices across the consortium member countries, and developed workshops, training and seminars to improve cooperation between public authorities and religious communities, among other issues related to the protection of places of worship.
