Tag: prevention

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The Euro-Arab Foundation participates in the 2nd International Forum on Public and Professional Policies for the prevention of radicalization of the INDEED project

The Euro-Arab Foundation for Higher Studies, a benchmark in the prevention of radicalization and violent extremism, has once again been invited to take part in a highly relevant debate: the 2nd International Forum of Public Policies and Professionals for the prevention of radicalization.

On this occasion, it was within the framework of the final event of the European project INDEED, which brought together experts from different countries in Warsaw (Poland) between September 11 and 13. The Euro-Arab researcher, Daniel F. Perez Garcia, has presented the results of the research related to extremism in Europe, which have been carried out by the Research and Projects Department.

Main findings

Among the main findings presented is a panorama of violent extremism that has evolved significantly, presenting new and complex dynamics. Extremist groups have adopted more sophisticated tactics, taking advantage of digital tools and globalization to spread their messages and recruit new followers.

Among the main findings presented is a picture of violent extremism that has evolved significantly, presenting new and complex dynamics. Extremist groups have adopted more sophisticated tactics, taking advantage of digital tools and globalization to spread their messages and recruit new followers.
One of the most worrying developments is the possibility of alliances between extremist groups of different ideologies, as well as with non-democratic international actors. This convergence of interests represents a growing threat to global security. In addition, there is a trend towards the internationalization of common discourses and the exploitation of social grievances and gaps in public policies to increase their social support and foster recruitment to radical networks.

New approach to prevention from a societal perspective

The Euro-Arab Foundation proposes a new approach to combat radicalization that goes beyond traditional reactive measures. This approach focuses on strengthening social ties and addressing the root causes of radicalization, such as inequalities and exclusion.

To achieve this, a set of measures is proposed that include promoting integration among different social groups, integrating prevention into all public policies, fostering emotional well-being in communities, designing effective communication campaigns against extremist propaganda, involving young people in decision-making and ensuring gender equality in all initiatives.

In essence, the aim is to create more resilient and cohesive societies where radicalization finds less fertile ground, understanding that prevention is a shared responsibility involving all sectors of society.

This 2nd International Forum of Public Policy and Practitioners on Radicalization Prevention was held in the framework of the INDEED project, funded by the Horizon Europe program of the European Commission, which aims to strengthen the knowledge, capacities and skills of frontline practitioners and policy makers to design, plan, implement and evaluate initiatives on preventing violent extremism (PVE), countering violent extremism (CVE) and deradicalization, such as policies and strategies, long-term programs, short-term actions and ad hoc interventions, in an effective and proven manner.

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EN Interrad News Projects

The Euro-Arab Foundation participates in the EUROCRIM Annual Congress with an interdisciplinary panel on policies for the prevention of violent extremism

From September 11 to 14, the Annual Congress of the European Society of Criminology, EUROCRIM, in its twenty-fourth edition, is taking place at the University of Bucharest. The Executive Secretary of the Euro-Arab Foundation for Higher Studies, Antonio Sanchez, and the Director of Research and Projects of the same, Javier Ruipérez, have participated with the panel Interdisciplinary approaches to radicalization, political violence, and the relationship between terrorism and crime to advance P/CVE (Program for the Prevention and Combating of Violent Extremism).

The panel, moderated by Sánchez, is part of the INTERRAD project whose aim is to contribute to the challenge of Security, Safety and Defense by addressing cooperation in the prevention of violent radicalization of a jihadist nature in the framework of the European Union (EU) through an interdisciplinary perspective. Ruipérez presented an update on P/CVE strategic communications. Other speakers were:

  • Carlos Echeverría Jesús, Professor of Terrorism and International Relations at UNED, who spoke about the role of Daesh and Al-Qaeda as central actors in the expansion of jihadist ideology;
  • Roberto Muelas Lobato, Assistant Professor and Doctor of the University of Burgos in the Area of Social Psychology, and member of the research group Social Inclusion and Quality of Life, who spoke about the side effects of the program for the prevention of violent extremism ‘Fenix Andalucía’; and
  • Salvador Berdún Carrión, PhD in Criminology from the University of Granada and Director of the Department of Studies of ACAIP, who addressed the influence of National Security and terrorism in European Prison Regimes.
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The Euro-Arab Papers

Radicalisation in prisons analysis of the Escribano operation and prospects for prevention

The Euro-Arab Foundation has taken an in-depth look at Operation Escribano, considered a milestone in the fight against terrorism in Spanish prisons, with a publication that offers an exhaustive analysis of this complex police operation, which is the first conviction for terrorism in the Spanish prison context since 2008 and the first after the reform of the crime of terrorism in 2015. The authors of this analysis, published in a new issue in the Cuadernos de la Euroárabe collection, were: Daniel F. Pérez-García, researcher and head of projects in the area of prevention of radicalisation and violent extremism at the Euro-Arab Foundation, expert in the EU Knowledge Hub on Prevention of Radicalisation of the European Commission, where the Euro-Arab Foundation actively participates; Salvador Berdún Carrión, Director of the Studies Department of the Agrupación de Cuerpos de Ayudantes de Instituciones Penitenciarias and Doctor in Criminology; and Javier Ruipérez Canales, Director of the Research and Projects Department of the Euro-Arab Foundation, Doctor in Social Sciences and Director of Strategic Communication of the EU Knowledge Hub.

Analysis of Operation Escribano and prospects for prevention

On 12 February 2024, the 4th Section of the Criminal Division of the National Court issued Sentence number 4/2024, in which it sentenced two inmates to seven years and six months in prison. The defendants, who were already serving sentences for belonging to a terrorist organisation, were tried within the framework of what is known as Operation Escribano, which succeeded in dismantling an entire radicalising structure in Spanish prisons and stands as the largest investigation carried out in Europe into the radicalisation of the Daesh terrorist organisation in prisons. The review of judicial, legislative, academic and strategic documentation in the Euro-Arab publication has been complemented with interviews with the sources of the Guardia Civil police investigation and presents the analysis of the radical networks dismantled in this operation.

The main objective of the analysis is to extract good practices in order to optimise prevention strategies within the prison environment. The recommendations include respect for the guarantee of human rights in judicial processes, in prison treatment and in the assessment of the risk of radicalisation, and the promotion of programmes for the rehabilitation of violent extremism and social and functional reintegration in democratic societies.

The publication (in Spanish) can be downloaded from the Euro-Arab Foundation’s website: https://fundea.org/cuaderno-euroarabe-radicalizacion-en-prisiones/


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The Euro-Arab Foundation and the Iraqi Al Nahrain Center solidify a partnership to exchange knowledge and conduct joint researches

A. Sánchez, secretario ejecutivo de FUNDEA, y Ali Naser Bunya, director general del centro Al Nahrain tras la firma del convenio en la sede de FUNDEA (Granada).
FUNDEA- Al Nahrain Center

The Euro-Arab Foundation for Higher Studies has signed this Wednesday a collaboration agreement with the Al-Nahrain Center for Strategic Studies – National Security Consulting, based in Baghdad (Iraq), in order to cooperate and establish productive relationships in different fields of the research undertaken by both institutions.

The Al-Nahrain Centre for Strategic Studies is a research centre sponsored by the Iraqi National Security Council that develops strategic studies responding to the interests, challenges and threats of the Arab country, both at the national level and in the Middle East region.

The meeting took place at the Euro-Arab headquarters, in Granada, where the Iraqi delegation was led by the Director General of the Al-Nahrain Centre for Strategic Studies, the lawyer Ali Naser Bunyan al-Lami, accompanied by the Engineer Director General of the Directorate of Administration and Finance of the Office of the Iraqi National Security Advisor, Hayder Abdulameer Abed al-Yasiri, and the Head of the Department of Social and Psychological Studies of the Al-Nahrain Centre for Strategic Studies, Shatha Kadhim , and the official liaison of the European Union Consultative Mission in Iraq, Marwah Dallyousif.

The meetings between both institutions, which lasted two days, were also attended by an official from the Directorate General for Home Affairs (DG Home) of the European Commission.

The executive secretary of the Euro-Arab Foundation, Antonio J. Sánchez Ortega, stated that this agreement “consolidates our presence in the MENA region and in Iraq, where understanding the current security and prevention conditions is crucial.” Sánchez has expressed his satisfaction at the establishment of this link with an Iraqi center – he said – “so prestigious that it houses ten different research departments. Without a doubt, both institutions will benefit from this collaboration.”

The memorandum includes among its objectives the exchange of research and studies, as well as books, statistics and other types of information arising from their respective work. The Euro-Arab Foundation and the Al-Nahrain Centre will work together on projects that are characterised by their strategic and topical dimensions, or those related to public policies. In terms of scientific dissemination and training, the agreement covers joint research or studies, as well as the organisation of workshops, seminars and conferences in areas of common interest or the joint publication of books and publications.

“This agreement is part of the objectives of our centre, which are based on the directives of the advisor to the Iraqi National Security Board and which consist of establishing relations with different centres dedicated to research and cultural dissemination,” explained the director general of the Al Nahrain centre, Ali Naser Bunyan. “The Euro-Arab Foundation not only addresses these aspects -he added- but it also works to strengthen dialogue with the Arab world, of which Iraq is a part.“

The programme of activities included the presentation of the Euro-Arab Foundation’s research, cultural and training activities, such as the new Diploma in Environmental Management and Social Responsibility or the Diploma in Management of Non-Profit Entities or Endowment Management (awqaf) for Saudi students. Likewise, several of the research projects in which Euro-Arab is involved in different areas were presented: prevention of radicalisation and violent extremism, fight against hate speech and hate crimes, protection of places of worship of different faiths, dismantling of human trafficking networks or socio-educational interventions, among others.

As part of the extensive programme of activities, the visiting delegation was able to learn first-hand about the Joint Centre University of Granada – Army Training and Doctrine Command with a visit to the MADOC, where they were able to learn more about its activities at national level. The programme included cultural activities, such as a visit to La Madraza, the cultural centre of the University of Granada (https://lamadraza.ugr.es/).

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The Euro-Arab Foundation will be part of the EU’s new knowledge hub to prevent radicalisation

Presentación Centro de Conocimiento de la UE para Prevenir la Radicalización

The European Commission has just consolidated one of the most complex projects in the field of prevention of radicalisation, the EU Knowledge Hub on Prevention of Radicalisation, which was presented this morning at an event in Brussels. The contract, awarded to a consortium of eleven European entities, including the Euro-Arab Foundation for Higher Studies (based in Granada), has a duration of four years and is funded to the tune of 60 million euros. The aim of this centre, which takes over from the Radicalisation Awareness Network (RAN), is to create a platform that produces, compiles and disseminates knowledge and effective practices in the field of radicalisation prevention, both for EU member states and for third countries that are involved. 

Main actors and partners of the EU Knowledge Hub

The executive secretary of the Euro-Arab Foundation, Antonio Sánchez Ortega, expressed “great satisfaction” at seeing how “the process we started working on more than ten years ago is now enshrined with a much more holistic vision, capable of anticipating the perpetration of violent actions and making use of new online tools”.

The initiative will be led by the Danish NTU International, and the consortium includes the Euro-Arab Foundation for Higher Studies (Spain), Innovative Prison Systems-IPS (Portugal), the Polish Platform for Homeland Security, the Centre for Security Studies (Greece), the Hellenic Ministry of Citizen Protection, the Hellenic Foundation for European and Foreign Policy, the European Research and Project Office-GmbH (Greece), the Deep Blue Research Centre (Italy), the European Centre for Studies and Initiatives (Italy) and the Romanian National Intelligence Academy Mihai Viteazul.

Activities and services of the EU Knowledge Hub

“This project is based on full respect for diversity and fundamental rights,” says the Euro-Arab Executive Secretary. “From our experience with international cooperation and the ties that unite us with the Arab world, we will work to address the internal security priorities of these third countries in complete synergy and collaboration with European needs, without forgetting the importance of communication and the dissemination of knowledge,” adds Sánchez.

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EN PARTES News Projects

«From Margins to Targets: How to Counter Exclusion and Protect Religious Minorities»

Since March 2023, the PARTES project («Participatory approaches to protecting places of worship» – more information here), funded by the EU, has been investigating attacks on religious communities and respective places of worship. Their findings show that minority faiths are more likely to be targeted than mainstream religions. However, the question of the social motivations of this phenomenon remains to be answered.

Read the complete article by our researcher José Luis Salido here.

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News Projects

We participate in the RAN YOUNG meeting where youth take the floor to confront polarisation and hate speeches

The third meeting of the RAN Practitioners Young Platform, the platform of young people, experts on radicalisation and prevention of the European Commission’s Radicalisation Awareness Network, took place in Zagreb (Croatia) on 2nd and 3rd May. Among the participants was Euro-Arab Foundation researcher Daniel Pérez García who together with the other young people explored the local impact of global challenges, such as war and international conflicts, on European youth and created proposals to mitigate the different repercussions on themselves and their communities.

Daniel Pérez García, researcher at the Euro-Arab Foundation, participates in RAN Young Practitioners

The recommendations revolved around four themes: mental health, polarisation, hate speech and hate crime. The Euro-Arab researcher was part of the hate crime group, which addressed how hate speech and hate crimes can precede atrocities, including genocide, or the use of social media and digital platforms as facilitators of the spread of hate.

The meeting concluded that hate speech, along with misinformation, leads to stigmatisation, discrimination and violence on a large scale, and emphasised the need not to underestimate the influence of global conflicts on individuals that can even lead to collective trauma.

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EN PARTES News Projects

The PARTES consortium meets in Brussels to exchange achievements and learnings

The entities associated in PARTES, the European project that seeks to protect places of worship, met on April 22nd and 23rd in Brussels in order to share the lessons learned and achievements reached so far. The Euro-Arab Foundation for Higher Studies is part of it and its researcher, José Luis Salido Medina, coordinated the PARTES Conference held in Melilla in March, which brought together representatives of different religious confessions.

Our reasearcher attended both, the workshop on April 22, and the Steering Committee on the 23rd. The workshop discussed the current challenges and issues that places of worship are facing. It also addressed the importance of bridging the communication gaps that may exist between the various religious communities and between them and the authorities. On its part, the fourth meeting of the PARTES Steering Committee was held to evaluate the work of the project over the past four months, identify key issues for discussion and develop a collaborative plan for the coming months.

Currently, the PARTES consortium is compiling local communication and security strategies to protect places of worship in ten European Union countries.

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The Euro-Arab Foundation organizes the Seminar ‘Trends and Scenarios of Global Terrorism’

INFORME OIET CUADRADO ok - 1

The Euro-Arab Foundation for Higher Studies, based in Granada, will host on Monday, April 29, the Seminar “Trends and Scenarios of Global Terrorism”. The event will be opened by Antonio Sanchez, executive secretary of the Euro-Arab Foundation, and Carlos Igualada, director of the International Observatory for Terrorism Studies (OIET), which has edited the Yearbook.

Javier Ruipérez Canales, director of the Department of Research and Projects of the Euro-Arab Foundation and main researcher of the Area of Prevention of Radicalization and Violent Extremism, will start the seminar with a lecture on the opportunities presented by prevention policies.

Next, Carlos Igualada will present the Jihadist Terrorism Yearbook 2023, the most recent study on the trends, actors and current challenges of global jihadism published by the OIET. Igualada has been one of the coordinators of the report and will present the main data on jihadism at a global level, as well as the current situation of jihadism in Spain based on the fight against terrorism.

The third presentation will be given by Ana Aguilera, senior researcher at the OIET and coordinator of the Yearbook, who will talk about jihadist trends in West Africa in 2023. The seminar will be closed by Daniel Perez, a researcher at the Euro-Arab Foundation specialized in the prevention of radicalization and violent extremism. Perez will address the rehabilitation of women returnees from Syria and Iraq in the European Union. These topics are included in two chapters of this Yearbook, which also includes analyses on jihadist activity in Southeast Asia, on jihadist propaganda in Europe, as well as mechanisms and resources to attend to the victims of jihadist terrorism. 

The presentation of the Jihadist Terrorism Yearbook 2023 will begin on Monday, April 29 at 5 p.m. in the Assembly Hall of the Euro-Arab Foundation at 27 San Jeronimo Street in Granada. Admission will be free until full capacity is reached.

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EN PARTES EN Shield News Projects

A guide to protect places of worship

SHIELD Handbook/Guía
SHIELD Handbook/Guía

Synagogues, churches and mosques are of vital importance for social coexistence and cohesion in the European Union; however, they have been, and can become, targets of potential terrorist attacks as witnessed in the last decade. This has been one of the main reasons for launching the SHIELD project, funded by the European Commission’s Internal Security Fund (ISF) programme. The entities involved in SHIELD, including the Granada-based Euro-Arab Foundation for Higher Studies, are clear about the need to create a “cultural shield” that defends both individuals and religious communities, since, when talking about the physical security of infrastructures, aspects such as the environment, culture, social inclusion and inter-religious dialogue are underlined.

The project consortium was composed of eighteen partners from Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, France, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Poland, Portugal and Romania, research centres, intercultural institutes, local and security authorities and even religious associations with the common goal of identifying and proposing concrete solutions to burning issues of common interest, such as assessing the risk and vulnerability of places of worship to potential terrorist attacks.

Tackling extremism and protecting religious freedom

The establishment of projects such as SHIELD promote mutual understanding and increase respect, they also facilitate the meeting and sharing of knowledge, creating synergies. In this case, SHIELD has facilitated the development of a common strategy for reducing threats and increasing religious freedom. During the two years of the project, SHIELD has hosted several dialogue meetings aimed at countering religious extremism, with the co-participation of state security forces, the society and security and security technology companies.

The final event, held in Brussels, was attended by Tamara Muñoz, Programme Officer of the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Migration and Home Affairs, as well as representatives from ten European countries and the three monotheistic religions (Judaism, Christianity and Islam). In addition, copies of the guide produced by SHIELD entities (downloadable here) with guidelines on how to increase security and protect places of worship from violence and the threat of terrorism could be collected.

The guide has been translated into nine languages, including English and Arabic, and is aimed at religious community leaders, security officials, local policy makers and law enforcement officials. It gathers data on violent aggressions in Europe that show that the Muslim community has been the most attacked between 2000 and 2020, suffering 48% of the total aggressions compared to 29% of the Christian community and 24% of the Jewish community. This document aims, on the one hand, to raise awareness on the prevention of radicalisation and the issue of security and, on the other hand, to provide practical and operational guidance on risk assessment tools, technical security measures or mitigation approaches after an attack with the provision of victim support services.

The research continues

Although SHIELD has come to an end, another European project, PARTES, will continue to work until April 2025 with the same objective. In this case, the Euro-Arab Foundation in Spain is leading the work package “Threats and Responses Landscape”, a research to establish an overview of attacks on religious communities, the hate crimes they suffer and existing protection measures, as well as the identification of good practices of cooperation between religious institutions and public authorities.

PARTES’ priorities are to improve cooperation between public authorities and religious communities, to conduct awareness-raising campaigns, trainings and seminars, as well as to take stock, evaluate and exchange best practices and tools in this field.