Within the framework of the European EU Mutual Job Shadowing program and in collaboration with the EU Knowledge Hub on Prevention of Radicalisation, the Euro-Arab Foundation has hosted a key technical workshop titled “Gendered Pathways from online radicalisation to custodial disengagement and reintegration.”
The event featured presentations by Dr. Chafiaa Djouadi, from the French organisation Militants des Savoirs, and Mr. Salvador Berdún, a Spanish expert in the field and head of ACAIP Research Department. Both specialists shed light on the crucial need to integrate a gender perspective into all scientific and operational research focusing on online radicalisation processes, prison stays, disengagement, and the subsequent reintegration of individuals.
Gender as a Central Axis of Radicalisation
During the session, it was emphasised that the gender perspective should not be viewed as a peripheral issue, but rather as the very core of current radicalisation dynamics, spanning from jihadism and the far-right to the incel phenomenon. According to the experts, radicalised women often operate as recruiters, facilitators, or ideological support within these networks, though frequently under dynamics of subordination to men, a factor that requires meticulous analysis to formulate effective responses.
Furthermore, the speakers agreed that psychological care and guidance during the disengagement process, which necessarily begins within the correctional environment, must have guaranteed continuity outside of prison. This transition is essential to ensuring a real, effective, and long-term social reintegration.
By hosting this technical seminar, the organizing institutions reaffirm their commitment to advancing public safety and evidence-based social intervention, placing the gender perspective as a priority axis in the design of policies for preventing violent radicalisation (PVE/CVE).
The INTERCEPTED consortium held its third Steering Committee meeting last week alongside its synergistic initiative, OSINT RADAR.
The meeting marked an operational turning point, with the Venice Local Police taking over as the new general coordinator for both projects (INTERCEPTED and OSINT RADAR). This unified leadership ensures long-term strategic integration, transforming planning into immediate and sustainable operational actions..
The technical teams presented deliverables of strategic value, notably comprehensive analysis reports, methodologies for operational meetings, and an innovative technological roadmap designed for detecting digital crimes. Concurrently, specialized training sessions aimed at various stakeholders, such as police officers, judicial practitioners and stakeholders from the private sector (labour inspectors, welfare agencies, CSOs supporting victims, internet hosting providers) are being implemented , focusing on mastering these new digital investigation tools and platforms to tackle traffic in human beings (THB). These training activities will subsequently be followed by live prototyping sessions and the establishment of interagency teams across the participating countries.
The INTERCEPTED project maintains its steadfast goal of disrupting THB digital business models by intercepting online recruitment and advertisement on internet platforms. These objectives will be achieved by strengthening digital intelligence as well as cross-border and multi-agency cooperation among law enforcement agencies, judicial practitioners and private-sector actors.
As the project enters its final phase, new awareness-raising and dissemination campaigns will soon be launched to showcase these advancements before the project formally concludes in December 2026.
On April 27, the National Workshop of the SHIELDed project took place at the Headquarters of the Madrid Municipal Police, during a session jointly organised by the Euro-Arab Foundation and the city’s Municipal Police.
The meeting brought together around 25 participants from law enforcement agencies, mainly the Madrid Municipal Police and the Guardia Civil, religious communities, the Public Prosecutor’s Office, public administrations, and civil society organisations based in Madrid and operating nationwide.
During the session, participants analysed the main risks, vulnerabilities, and challenges related to the protection of places of worship and other religious spaces in Spain. The workshop also served to promote interfaith dialogue, multisectoral cooperation, and the development of coordinated responses to hate crimes and extremist threats.
The program included specialised presentations, participatory working groups, and a solutions lab focused on developing communication protocols and action plans aimed at strengthening prevention, protection, and response capacity in the event of possible incidents.
SHIELDed is a European project focused on the protection of places of worship and religious sites against extremist threats, hate-motivated attacks, and other security risks. The initiative promotes a comprehensive approach based on cooperation between public authorities, law enforcement agencies, religious communities, and civil society, fostering prevention, training, and coordination tools to strengthen the resilience and security of these spaces in Europe.
The SHIELDed national workshops are spaces for collaboration and joint work promoted in different European countries with the aim of bringing together key stakeholders to identify common challenges, share best practices, and design coordinated strategies for the protection of places of worship and the prevention of hate crimes and violent extremism.
Fotografías cedidas por Policía Municipal de Madrid
On April 29, within the framework of the DATA EQUALITY project, the Euro-Arab Foundation for Higher Studies conducted a national exercise in Spain aimed at analysing the practical challenges in implementing European judicial cooperation instruments, with a particular focus on data management and transmission. The activity, held online, consisted of an in-depth interview with two expert profiles—one from the prison administration and one from the police force—focusing on the consequences of information fragmentation in transnational contexts.
The exercise explored how the lack of complete and contextualized data impacts the actions of judicial, police, and prison authorities, as well as decision-making and the protection of fundamental rights. Furthermore, this activity is part of the pilot phase of the project’s newly developed methodology, aimed at validating its applicability in real-world settings.
Challenges and Proposals
Key findings included the existence of critical information gaps (such as the absence of complete prison records, risk indicators, or vulnerability data) as well as operational obstacles stemming from poor translations, a lack of legal equivalence, and limited institutional coordination.
The exercise also gathered proposals to improve cooperation mechanisms, including:
Strengthening system interoperability.
Developing standardised protocols for information exchange.
The need for specialised training for the professionals involved.
These results provide relevant empirical evidence for developing more inclusive and effective methodologies for data management within European judicial cooperation.
Through this activity, the Euro-Arab Foundation has helped identify key challenges related to the quality, interoperability, and transmission of data between Member States, highlighting a significant gap between the regulatory design of European instruments and their practical application.
The researcher from the Euro-Arab Foundation, Rascha Albaba Acosta, took part from April 21 to 23 in the second in-person training session of the VicTory project, held in Budapest and hosted by the Hungarian Helsinki Committee.
Over three working days, around 30 participants from various European countries (Italy, Spain, Finland, Hungary, and Portugal) came together to address strategies aimed at preventing secondary victimisation in cases of hate crimes and violent extremism within the criminal justice process. The meeting brought together professionals who work directly with victims, both from public administrations and NGOs, as well as representatives of law enforcement agencies.
Rascha Albaba, researcher at the Euro-Arab Foundation, during her presentation.
The sessions focused on key aspects such as the traumatic and psychosocial impact on victims, emotional support and mental health, and the importance of effective and inclusive communication. In this regard, the need to promote victim-centered communication—clear, accessible, empathetic, and tailored to their needs—was emphasized. Likewise, the fundamental role of trust and active listening in professional intervention was highlighted, especially in complex contexts such as hate crimes and extremism.
Another main focus was mental well-being, not only of victims but also of the professionals who support them, underscoring the importance of making this approach a priority in support services.
This meeting constitutes the second of three training sessions planned by the VicTory project, of which the Euro-Arab Foundation is a member. The project aims to strengthen the capacities of key professionals working with victims. The next session will take place in Finland, where the potential of restorative practices will be explored.
The Faculty of Political Science and Sociology at the University of Granada hosted the final conference of the European project Hatedemics last Thursday, March 26. After two years of international cooperation, the event served to present technological tools and innovative pedagogical strategies designed to shield democratic societies against the growing threat of harmful online content.
The inaugural session—moderated by Sara Afendi, project coordinator at ALDA—highlighted Granada’s role as a bridge for dialogue. Antonio Sánchez Ortega, Executive Secretary of the Euro-Arab Foundation, emphasized the project’s relevance for social cohesion:
“One of the main dangers to democracy is the hatred of speech and disinformation. This project is fully aligned with our goals of fostering collaboration between the two shores of the Mediterranean, the European world, and the Arab world,” stated Sánchez Ortega, who further stressed that Hatedemics is, above all, “a tool for democratic defense that connects research with public action.”
Along the same lines, the Vice Dean of the Faculty, Guadalupe Martínez Fuentes, warned that affective polarization is the ideal breeding ground for hate, while Antonella Valmorbida, Secretary General of ALDA (European Association for Local Democracy), described the current digital landscape as a “perfect storm” eroding the foundations of institutional trust.
The session featured a special intervention by Martin Sacleux (via online), Policy Officer at the European Commission (DG Justice), who reaffirmed the Union’s support through the CERV program (Citizens, Equality, Rights and Values): “Regulation is not enough; success depends on empowering civil society with practical tools and training like those we are presenting today.”
From the Lab to Social Action
One of the key moments was the panel “The Hatedemics Trajectory: From Research to Action,” moderated by the Director of Public Research at the CENTRA Foundation, Tristán Pertíñez Blasco. In this space, experts such as Javier Ruipérez Canales (Director of Research and International Projects at the Euro-Arab Foundation and Director of Strategic Communication at the European Commission’s EU Knowledge Hub), Marco Guerini (Fondazione Bruno Kessler and project coordinator), and Arije Antinori (Sapienza Università di Roma) debated the need to adapt social research methodologies to the breakneck pace of the digital ecosystem. The speakers agreed that online polarization and social reality are communicating vessels that require coordinated responses.
Another strategic axis of the day was the debate on “Building a Safer Digital Public Sphere,” a panel that analyzed global challenges in network security and extremism prevention. The panel included international leading voices such as Zahed Amanullah from the Institute for Strategic Dialogue (ISD), Andrew Staniforth from SAHER (Europe), Lucía Alonso, researcher at the Euro-Arab Foundation, and Francesca Capoccia from FACTA.
The speakers agreed that digital security is not just a technological challenge, but a democratic imperative. During the session, it was emphasized that, given the sophistication of hate campaigns, it is essential to strengthen civil society resilience, protect the work of journalists, and provide institutions with rapid response capabilities that protect fundamental rights without compromising freedom of expression.
The final conference also focused on the presentation of the Hatedemics Platform, an AI-based solution designed to detect and neutralize hate narratives. The unveiling of this tool—currently in the pilot phase—featured Eladia Illescas, Deputy Director of Research and Knowledge Transfer at CENTRA, alongside European partners such as Maryna Manchenko (CESIE), Jan Dąbkowski (CEO), Racheal Scicluna (SOS MALTA), Helena Bonaldi (FBK), and Vivian Rangel (Maldita.es), moderated by José Luis Salido Medina (Euro-Arab Foundation).
A Consortium of European Impact
The day concluded with a recognition of the efforts of the consortium led by Fondazione Bruno Kessler, which includes key partners such as the Euro-Arab Foundation for Higher Studies, the Center for Andalusian Studies (CENTRA), Maldita.es, ALDA, and various organizations from Poland, Italy, and Malta.
The conclusion of Hatedemics in Granada does not mark an end, but rather the beginning of a new stage of collaboration to integrate new voices and perspectives in the defense of a safer and more resilient digital public sphere.
The consortium of the European project VicTory, coordinated by the Euro-Arab Foundation for Higher Studies in Granada, has launched its Information Repository (information-repository.victoryproject.eu) on its website to support victims of hate crimes and extremism. This digital platform was created with the mission of becoming a leading resource library in Europe for the protection and support of victims of violent extremism and hate crimes.
The repository is a key infrastructure for facilitating victims’ rapid access to specialized contact points and support services, as well as ensuring that the knowledge generated during the project is easily accessible to legal professionals, law enforcement agencies, academics, and third-sector organizations across Europe. The platform has been designed to provide a smooth user experience, allowing users to filter information by country, types of crime, and professional profiles.
Among the core contents of this repository are an up-to-date compilation of legal frameworks and case law on victims’ rights at both European and national levels, as well as best-practice guides featuring examples of successful interventions in restorative justice and psychosocial support. The platform also provides direct access to specialized training materials, including the technical manual Manual of Best Practices and Promising Practices (in English) and informational flyers specifically designed to guide the work of justice professionals and social sector workers.
The VicTory project, funded by the European Commission’s Justice Programme, recognizes that mitigating violent extremism necessarily requires proper support for its victims. The repository not only documents the past, but also offers tools for prevention and awareness-raising to help avoid the escalation of violence and to protect social cohesion in vulnerable communities.
The Euro-Arab Foundation in Granada held, on March 17, the participatory roundtable “Faith and Feminism: Interreligious Dialogues among Women.” The event, organized by the Euro-Arab’s Chair of Gender Studies under the SHIELDed project, brought together nine experts and leading figures from various spiritual traditions to discuss identity, power, and women’s resistance within spaces of faith.
Introduced by Euro-Arab researcher Rascha Albaba Acosta and moderated by the institution’s project coordinator, José Luis Salido, the event was structured around three cross-cutting themes: intergenerational dialogue, feminist reinterpretations of religion, and the building of alliances in the public sphere.
The right to spirituality and autonomy
During the session, the speakers agreed that faith and feminism are not only compatible, but that their union is a tool for empowerment. Shankari Shaktini, a lecturer in Vedic philosophy, was unequivocal: “Spirituality is mine; if I want to belong to another religion, it is my freedom as an individual,” also denouncing how institutionalized dogma has historically stigmatized the feminine.
For her part, young Christian activist Valentina Pérez Cerezo (Mag+s and Women’s Revolt in the Church) highlighted the internal diversity of Catholicism and the struggle to overcome the “secondary role” to which women are relegated: “We are still Christian and feminist.”
Re-reading texts to reclaim dignity
One of the central points of the debate was the distinction between the original spiritual message and later patriarchal interpretations. Zoraida Alí Morell, a graduate in Philosophy, recalled that “the first believers were women” and that sacred texts, in their essence, dignify the female figure. In this vein, Paloma Medina and Rowan Aly emphasized that the problem lies not in the texts themselves, but in biased readings that reinforce male power structures.
From the perspective of Islam in Europe, lawyer Omayma Boughlala offered a critical reflection on the paternalism of certain sectors of Western feminism: “There are feminists who do not include me because they think I have no voice. How can I participate if it is assumed that I need to be ‘liberated’?”—thus asserting the autonomy of Muslim women to decide on their own symbols and practices.
Education against extremism
The event concluded with a call for religious literacy as an antidote to hatred and exclusion. Susana Lorente, from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, stated that “knowledge is freedom” and proposed integrating religious diversity into educational curricula. Lola Parras Chica (Tibetan Buddhism) and Medha Tyagi (Vedic tradition) stressed the need to unlearn patriarchal models and restore women’s central role in the transmission of values.
The meeting closed with a shared commitment: the need for women not only to practice their faith, but to become its interpreters and creators of inclusive spaces, transforming religion into a tool for social justice. Read the full post on our blog dedicated to this event.
Participation in the training is free of charge, although places are limited. Interested individuals can register through the following form: https://forms.gle/Z11YACeySvFV2RxT8
The Euro-Arab Foundation for Higher Studies will hold a free training session on 16 April at its headquarters in Granada (C/ San Jerónimo, 27). The session is aimed at leaders of religious communities and will focus on preventive security and incident management. The activity is organised within the framework of the European project PARTESS-COM and is open to representatives of all religious denominations.
The training will be delivered by the specialized organization Enhancing Faith Institutions, which has extensive experience in training on community security and the protection of religious institutions. The event will be conducted in English and Spanish, with simultaneous interpretation to facilitate the participation of all attendees.
During the session, participants will address several key aspects related to the security of places of worship and community centers, including:
Concepts of preventive security
Development of crisis communication plans
Basic vulnerability assessment
Practical application of security resources
Reporting security incidents through a new digital platform
Exchange of good practices among religious communities
The objective of this session is to strengthen prevention and response capacities regarding security incidents, while also fostering cooperation between religious leaders, local communities, and security specialists.
The PARTESS-COM project (“Participatory Approaches to Protect Places of Worship, Schools and Community Centres”), in which the Euro-Arab Foundation participates, works to prevent hatred, extremism, and terrorism by collecting good practices in preventive, protective, and reactive security. It also promotes the training of community representatives and law enforcement officers in their practical application.
As part of this initiative, the project has developed a European digital platform that brings together security resources, facilitates exchanges among religious leaders from different countries, and enables citizens to report security-related incidents in places of worship.
Participation in the training is free of charge, although places are limited. Interested individuals can register through the following form:
On 4 March, researcher Karen Hough from the Euro-Arab Foundation for Higher Studies delivered a specialised training session for police and border control officers in Romania, focusing on the growing risks of human trafficking in digital environments. This initiative was directly informed by the research results of the VANGUARD project, which analyses how exploitation is increasingly shifting into online spaces.
The training aimed to equip frontline professionals with advanced knowledge and practical tools to identify, prevent, and disrupt trafficking activities at their earliest stages. Drawing on evidence generated by VANGUARD, the session addressed key risk factors, vulnerability indicators, and emerging strategies used by criminal networks, such as online grooming, misuse of digital platforms, and concealment techniques. It also emphasised the practical application of this knowledge, translating project findings into operational solutions to strengthen detection capabilities, improve victim protection, and enhance cross-border cooperation between agencies.
The Fundación Euroárabe de Altos Estudios is actively involved in the European Horizon Europe VANGUARD project, an international initiative aimed at strengthening the fight against human trafficking through advanced technological solutions, specialised training, and collaboration between key stakeholders. The project brings together a broad consortium of European research institutions, law enforcement agencies, and civil society organisations, and focuses on improving the detection, investigation, and prevention of trafficking, particularly in its online and cross-border dimensions, through the development of artificial intelligence and data analysis tools.
