Last week, the introductory session of the VicTory project’s online training took place. In the online meeting, the Euro-Arab Foundation for Higher Studies, as the coordinator of the VicTory project, actively participated in the introductory session of the online training, welcoming participants and presenting the comprehensive victim-centered and restorative justice approach that characterizes the project. During the session, the purpose and scope of the training were explained, combining an online course with in-person exchange events, and the importance of the work of professionals who provide justice and empowerment to victims every day was emphasised.
The session also offered participants the opportunity to get to know each other better and begin building networks of collaboration among professionals from different European countries, fostering constructive and enriching exchanges. It was highlighted that criminal justice and victim support go beyond legal and institutional procedures, and that training professionals working in this field is essential to ensure effective and humane assistance.
The Digital Dimension of Harm and Training for Victim Support Professionals
For many people affected by hate crimes or extremism, the harm does not end with the incident itself. This is particularly evident in digital environments, where the ongoing circulation of images, narratives, comments, or threats can prolong suffering, increasing distress and uncertainty beyond the original event. However, despite the growing prevalence of this reality, victims often face these digital aftereffects with limited information and uneven support. Professionals may lack up-to-date knowledge about online risks, particularly regarding the interaction of generative artificial intelligence and algorithmic biases, while digital platforms face challenges in moderating “gray” content and removing it effectively.
Despite these challenges, victim support professionals consulted within the VicTory project emphasize that the digital world can also offer opportunities to improve victim safety, recovery, and reporting, helping to reduce secondary harm. Therefore, the VicTory project highlights the need for clearer professional practices and greater institutional awareness that recognizes the digital dimension of harm, ensuring that information, support, and protective measures are available both in-person and online. This is one of the topics covered in our online training course.
Registration and participation in the online training remain open. This training is aimed at professionals working in the field of support for victims of hate crimes and violent extremism in Europe and is available in Spanish, English, and other languages. Interested individuals can register and obtain more information through the following link: https://lnkd.in/dFysTwaS
The panel brought together researchers and practitioners from different European countries to analyse the current threat environment affecting places of worship and religious communities, which are increasingly exposed to acts of extremism, hate crime and ideologically motivated violence. In this context, religious spaces were addressed as critical infrastructure requiring greater attention in terms of security and resilience.
The Euro-Arab Foundation was represented by José Luis Salido, researcher and project coordinator who highlighted the importance of comprehensive prevention approaches based not only on physical security measures, but also on soft security strategies, community engagement, and improved communication channels between religious communities, local authorities and security actors.
During his presentation, Salido analysed the current global threat landscape and presented the results of a study based on the analysis of 25 hate crime case studies across 13 European countries, highlighting that places of worship and related spaces have become critical targets. Salido delved into the ideological and strategic characteristics of the extremist groups perpetrating these attacks, warning that the transition from hate speech to physical aggression is a growing concern that demands a coordinated response between local authorities, national governments, and European Union institutions
The participation of the Euro-Arab Foundation in this panel reinforces its commitment to applied research, intercultural dialogue and the prevention of violent extremism, in line with its work on European projects focused on social cohesion and democratic security.
The panel was held within the framework of the European project PARTESS-COM, an initiative funded by the European Commission in which the Euro-Arab Foundation is a partner. The project aims to improve the protection of places of worship and religious communities against terrorist and extremist threats by fostering cooperation, communication and trust among religious actors, public authorities and security forces. It promotes preventive and participatory approaches, as well as the development of practical tools and recommendations to strengthen security without compromising fundamental rights or social cohesion.
This Wednesday, 17 December, the headquarters of the Euro-Arab Foundation hosted the first meeting of the Local Working Group on the Protection of Places of Worship in Granada, a new platform arising from the joint work of the Euro-Arab Foundation and the Granada City Council, with the aim of enhancing the security of religious spaces and communities in the city.
The creation of this Working Group is part of the SHIELDed project, co-funded by the European Commission under the Internal Security Fund, in which the Euro-Arab Foundation participates alongside various partners. This first meeting brought together representatives of Granada’s main religious communities, civil society organisations, academia, and members of the State Security Forces and Corps.
During the meeting, opened by the Executive Secretary of the Euro-Arab Foundation, Antonio Sánchez, and the Councillor for Social Policy, Family, Disability and Older People of the Granada City Council, Amparo Arrabal Martín, the objectives and lines of action of the SHIELDed project were first addressed. Key municipal initiatives were also presented, such as the Municipal Participatory Round Table for Religious Diversity, the Municipal Round Table for Intercultural Dialogue, and the Municipal Observatory against Hate Crimes. These presentations were delivered by Councillor Amparo Arrabal Martín and by the Technical Director and Coordinator of both Municipal Round Tables, María Eugenia Luzón Molero.
The session concluded with a participatory exercise that allowed members of the Working Group to share and express their views on the security of places of worship in the city. Through this exercise, threats, protection needs, challenges, and existing good practices were identified, with the aim of laying the foundations for an action plan to guide the work of the group and define security priorities for religious communities and the institutions involved.
The Euro-Arab Foundation highly values the outcome of this first meeting, highlighting the high level of engagement, interest, and willingness shown by all participants. It also thanks the Granada City Council and the participating organisations for their close collaboration, expressing confidence that this line of joint work will be consolidated over time and that this Working Group will become a useful forum for strengthening coexistence, peace, and security in the city.
The Euro-Arab Foundation for Higher Studies has participated in the Steering Committee and the Training of Trainers (ToT) initiative of the DATA Equality project that took place on December 3rd and 4th at the Center for Security Studies (KEMEA) in Athens, Greece. The ToT’s objective was to ensure that all consortium members fully understand and acquire the skills necessary to utilise and test the new methodology developed by the project. This prepares them to become a pool of expert trainers for the upcoming cascade training phase scheduled for Spring 2026, and that will be developed by the Euro-Arab Foundation.
In addition to the ToT progress, the researcher and project coordinator of the Euro-Arab Foundation, José Luis Salido Medina, and the researcher, Paula Cano Cruz, shared the latest updates of the European Handbook on Equality Data during the Steering Committee.
The Euro-Arab Foundation is part of the consortium of DATA EQUALITY project, an initiative that has developed a methodology to endorse inclusive data practices for civil society. The project has established as a high priority the guarantee of inclusive data practices on the security and justice work fields, giving its impact on citizens, with the Court of Appeal of Venice, Italy, as the coordinator, alongside partners such as the High Prosecutorial Council of Albania.
The Euro-Arab’s contribution is based on its extensive experience on cooperation, training and research between Arab and European States. Therefore, its role is to promote studies and research, platforms and forums, as well as methodology development and capacity building.
The Euro-Arab Foundation for Higher Studies participated in the “Euro-Mediterranean Relations in 2025” Conferences, which were held at Casa Árabe, Córdoba, on Wednesday, November 26 and Thursday, November 27, 2025. The event, organized by the AECPA Permanent Group Diplomacy(ies) Plural(es), commemorates the 30th anniversary of the Barcelona Declaration (November 30, 1995).
The conferences analyse the relations between the European Union, its institutions and Member States, and the Southern shore of the Mediterranean from the perspective of plural diplomacy, which includes actors beyond governments (civil society, academia, socioeconomic agents). The Euro-Arab Foundation, a collaborator of the event, was represented by its researcher, Daniel F. Pérez García, who participated in the panel on “Geopolitics and Geo-economics in the Mediterranean,” focusing on the prevention of radicalization and EU-Mediterranean cooperation, a crucial issue for stability and security in the Euro-Mediterranean region.
Today, November 28, marks thirty years since the Barcelona Process and the consolidation of the Euro-Arab Foundation for Higher Studies.
The foundational link between the Euro-Arab Foundation and the Barcelona Process is not accidental but intrinsic. Created in 1995, the Foundation was established at a crucial moment, coinciding with the birth of the Euro-Mediterranean Partnership in Barcelona. The Euro-Arab Foundation emerged precisely as a response from civil society and academia to the need to build the social and cultural pillars that the Barcelona Process sought in its Declaration.
Since then, the Euro-Arab Foundation has acted as a think tank and a bridge of knowledge in Granada, a strategic hub, putting into practice the human and academic dimension of the Euro-Mediterranean dialogue. It has done this tangibly through the organization of congresses and the production of knowledge, as well as through collaboration agreements, establishing and maintaining a dense network of agreements with entities, research centers, and universities in the MENA (Middle East and North Africa) region, and thanks to its collaboration and leadership in projects financed by the European Commission.
The session was attended by more than 40 representatives from politics, civil society, and law enforcement agencies, hailing from 28 different organizations across 10 EU Member States. The event also featured researchers from the Euro-Arab Foundation for Higher Studies, whose work is specifically focused on the analysis and fight against hate speech within the framework of various European projects in which the Foundation participates.
The final session will take place in Belgium, from November 26 to 27, 2025.
About the EOOH
The European Observatory of Online Hate (EOOH) is a project supported by the European Commission dedicated to combating illegal hate speech and disinformation in the digital environment, aiming to promote a safer online space aligned with the EU’s Digital Services Act (DSA). Its strategy is based on a triple approach: Identification (using advanced AI technology to detect harmful content in multiple languages), Analysis (investigating the nature and trends of online hate), and Action (collaborating with law enforcement and civil society to report and address this content, strengthening cooperation and training key actors in the fight against hate narratives such as antisemitism, Islamophobia, and LGTBphobia)
The Faculty of Social Sciences at Pablo de Olavide University (UPO) hosted the workshop ‘Artificial Intelligence against hate and disinformation’ on November 19th. This training session, included in the European project Hatedemics, allowed for a practical and participatory exploration of how these phenomena operate in the digital environment and what strategies and tools can be used to detect, prevent, and combat them.
The meeting, co-organized by the Center for Andalusian Studies Foundation (CENTRA), the Euro-Arab Foundation for Higher Studies (FUNDEA), and the Maldita.es Foundation, all project members, brought together around thirty students of Sociology, Social Work, Political Science, Pedagogy, and Social Education, as well as professors and representatives from the third sector. They were all interested in delving into the risks posed by disinformation and hate speech in the digital environment and learning tools to identify and curb them.
The first part of the session, led by Vivian Rangel (Maldita Educa), focused on understanding the workings of the disinformation ecosystem: the motivations that drive it, the most frequent narratives, and the formats that make it especially persuasive. Through applied exercises, attendees learned key skills for detecting manipulated content, identifying warning signs, and applying verification strategies designed for critical information consumption.
Among the proposed tools, attendees practiced lateral reading to check the reliability of a website or a source. This exercise allows for a deeper contextualization of information online by answering these questions: Who authored the content? Is the author identifiable? Are they an expert on the subject? Is the information based on facts and data? What evidence is there? Has this information been corroborated by other reliable sources? What do those sources say?
Euro-Arab Researcher Lucía G. del Moral during her presentation
In the second part, Lucía G. del Moral (Euro-Arab Foundation) presented the progress of the Hatedemics digital platform, currently under development. This platform uses artificial intelligence to analyze hate and disinformation dynamics on social networks and offers training resources, exercises, and counter-narrative proposals with the aim of strengthening critical thinking. During the workshop, several of these functionalities were tested, especially the educational activities and pedagogical resources aimed at understanding, identifying, and counteracting online hate, and those focused on user training through the writing of specific composition exercises.
The Hatedemics Project
Hatedemics is a project funded by the European Commission (CERV-2023-CHAR-LITI-101143249) whose purpose is to combat hate speech and disinformation in the digital environment. Its main objective is to train NGOs, civil society organizations, media professionals, authorities, and young activists to effectively identify and respond to these phenomena, with special attention to their impact on the most vulnerable groups.
The project focuses on the intersection between hate speech and disinformation—two closely related issues often addressed independently—in order to promote a more comprehensive and coordinated response to these challenges.
On Tuesday 8th November, a full-day European seminar in Bilbao (Spain) brought together criminal justice professionals, restorative justice practitioners, law enforcement agencies, victim support workers, and civil society organisations, to improve victim support responses to hate-motivated and extremism-related harm. The event was organised under the VicTory initiative and included participants from Spain, Portugal, Finland, Hungary, Italy, Belgium, and Northern Ireland. The objective of this seminar was to improve multi-agency cooperation in victim support, where professionals shared experiences from their own countries and worked jointly to develop practical and cross-country solutions in victim support.
Experts identified multi-agency cooperation as a key area for improvement, particularly for victims of hate crime and violent extremism. Such victims often have specific needs, experiencing the harm done to them as an attack on their perceived identity. A well-functioning multi-agency model, with clear standards and protocols, is therefore essential to prevent secondary victimisation. Moreover, hate-motivated incidents can impact not only the victim that was targeted, but the entire community in which the incident took place. Consequently, coordinated responses have a more positive impact with they also address these broader effects but also strengthens social trust and ensures that the rights and needs of victims remain at the centre.
The event, held at the Bizkaia Aretoa, University of the Basque Country, also showcased new initiatives and approaches being developed by the transnational partnership to enhance access to support, information, and safe reporting routes for victims affected by hate and extremist incidents.
The presentations opened the space for a secure and collective reflection at the state of victim support across partner countries. Speakers outlined the lessons taken from the national workshops held earlier in the project, including what victims need at the first point of contact and where services face the biggest challenges.
Strengthening Victim Support
Restorative justice was a key discussion theme, starting with a roundtable with the project’s external expert advisory board, including representatives from the European Forum for Restorative Justice, and the Spanish Judicial Network for International Cooperation (REJUE). Speakers shared examples of european restorative justice initiatives, lessons learnt, and the importance of this model for victims and perpetrators.
The Euro-Arab’s researcher, Lucía Alonso, participates in the event with a presentation on promoting multi-agency cooperation
Experts underlined that restorative justice can help victims regain a sense of control and when it may not be suitable. The conversation pointed to the complexity of implementing and applying restorative practices in contrast with the linearity of the general justice system, as a difficulty to overcome. In a question-and-answer format, participants were able to engage in this discussion, raising concerns, sharing their own country’s practices, and deepening conversations about restorative justice in the context of hate or war crimes.
Presenting the main findings from the VicTory National Cooperation Workshops held in each partner country, the project coordinators at the Euro-Arab Foundation for Higher Studies identified national measures that could be used more widely and in other regions. The discussion also covered shortcomings in current systems, such as fragmentation of services and institutional silos, legal gaps and unclear definitions, lack of professional specialised training, and difficulty in ensuring inclusion and adequate representation.
The Euro-Arab’s researcher, Daniel F. Pérez, during the opening session.
Fostering collaboration in the field of victim support was another of the central themes of the day. Involving justice services, civil society groups, and victim support services, the discussions explored how cross-sector ties can improve policy work and field assistance. Participants split into mixed-country groups to work on potential cross-border ideas. The topics included the conditions needed for smooth cooperation between agencies, first contact with victims, ways to offer support that fits their needs, and the role of justice responses.
Another conclusion shared by different participants regarding how to work from a victim-centred approach was the importance to guarantee the informed self-determination right of victims and to build a secure space to avoid second victimization ensuring proper risk assessment and support based on radical hearing.
These discussions will feed into VicTory’s planned resources, including the multi-agency cooperation framework due for release in 2026. The seminar also gave space to present the tools that are already available for victims and practitioners, such as the Handbook on Good Practices, the online training courses, and the Information Repository, which provides a detailed source of information for both groups.
The event closed with a call to maintain the pace of the work. Partners will continue refining these tools and preparing the upcoming ones, drawing on the feedback gathered from practitioners during the seminar.
About the VicTory Project
Despite growing concern across Europe, many victims of hate-motivated harm and violent extremism do not report these incidents, often due to fear, stigma, or mistrust in institutions. The VicTory project, a transnational initiative funded by the European Union with two of the partners, IPS_Innovative Prison Systems (Portugal) and the Euro-Arab Foundation for Higher Studies (FUNDEA, Spain), also involved in the EU Knowledge Hub on Prevention of Radicalisation, addresses this challenge by adopting a victim-centred, restorative-led approach. Its goal is to ensure victims receive the support they need and to empower them to participate actively in the recovery process.
The VicTory project – Restorative and victim-centred approach to mitigate hate and (violent) extremism – brings together partners from five countries, including organisations working in victim support, restorative justice, policing, and research, all collaborating to improve multi-agency cooperation and victims’ access to services.
Through a victim-centred approach, which puts the needs, rights, and experiences of victims first, VicTory helps professionals from governmental and non-governmental organisations apply EU legislation and victims’ rights standards effectively. Its restorative-led framework focuses on repairing harm, giving victims a voice, and fostering accountability among those involved. It is designed to prevent secondary victimisation, that is, the additional trauma victims may experience due to insensitive or inadequate responses from institutions.
The project also focuses on enhancing the skills and collaboration of practitioners, including criminal justice professionals, victim support workers, and case managers, so that victims of hate crimes and extremism-related incidents receive better support, guidance, and protection, while ensuring that legislation and best practices are applied consistently across borders.
The Euro-Arab Foundation for Higher Studies has participated in the online seminar “Understanding and Countering Gendered Far-Right Narratives Among Youth,” held on November 18. This workshop was organized within the framework of the European project YOU-DARE(YOUth Debunking the gendered Arguments of far-Right Extremism), an initiative funded by the European Commission.
The Foundation’s participation was led by Lucía G. del Moral, a member of its Research and Projects Department. The seminar served as a key space for the exchange of knowledge and the discussion of effective strategies to address one of the most complex and growing phenomena in the European political and social landscape: the use of gender narratives by far-right movements to mobilize and radicalize young people.
The YOU-DARE project, which began in February 2025 and will run until 2028, specifically seeks to generate knowledge and develop practical tools so that policymakers, civil society, and young people themselves can counter these divisive and anti-democratic discourses, promoting values of equality and respect for human rights.
The Euro-Arab Foundation for Higher Studies has collaborated in the organisation of a key training session for the University Master’s Degree in Intelligence and Counter-Terrorism at the Civil Guard University Centre. Titled “Interreligious Dialogue Panel: Coexistence, Security, and Cooperation,” the session was dedicated to delving into interreligious dialogue and the challenges of democratic coexistence in a context of growing diversity in Spain.
The session, driven by theIslamic Commission of Spain (CIE) with the collaboration of the Euro-Arab Foundation, was held in person at the headquarters of the Civil Guard Orphans Association (APHGC) and is positioned as a strategic high-level space for the exchange of ideas among actors with public decision-making capacity.
A Strategic Forum for Security and Coexistence
The meeting was aimed at the Master’s students, a multidisciplinary profile that includes high-ranking Civil Guard officials, as well as professionals from the judiciary, ministries, security agencies, and penitentiary institutions. The participation of the Euro-Arab Foundation in this forum underscores its experience and institutional relevance in training management personnel on sensitive issues such as diversity management, the fight against extremism, and the promotion of social peace.
The roundtable panel featured the presence of prominent religious denominations in Spain, such as the Spanish Episcopal Conference, the Federation of Jewish Communities of Spain, and the Islamic Commission of Spain (CIE).
Reflections on Social Cohesion and Diversity
The Islamic Commission of Spain (CIE) was represented by Hicham Oulad Mhammed, a CIE member and expert in interreligious dialogue. During his intervention, he highlighted the need to address the growing social polarisation and the negative impact of hoaxes and narratives that seek the “foreignisation” (“extranjerización”) of Muslim communities in Spain, denying their deep historical roots.
Other key points of his presentation included:
The promotion of the positive visibility of Muslims and the importance of Islamic thought being expressed in the Spanish language, while acknowledging the new challenges this generates in the face of intolerance.
The recognition of the Spanish legal framework on religious freedom (Law 26/1992) as one of the most advanced, along with the need to improve its practical implementation at the local level.
Hicham Oulad Mhammed stressed that “social cohesion is not built by denying difference, but by integrating it within a framework of mutual respect and real equality,” appealing to the active role of institutions in defending constitutional values.
The Euro-Arab Foundation’s collaboration in the organisation of this event reaffirms its institutional commitment to inter-sectoral cooperation and civic education. By facilitating these high-impact meetings, it directly contributes to the strengthening of interreligious dialogue as an essential tool for democratic coexistence and the prevention of discourses that erode social peace among the State Security Forces and Corps and other key public institutions.
