Tag: radicalisation

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EN PARTES News Projects

The Euro-Arab Foundation organises a conference in Melilla on interreligious dialogue and hate crime prevention

Inauguración del foro 'Enfoques participativos para la protección de lugares de culto' en la Delegación de Gobierno de Melilla, con la Delegada del Gobierno, Sabrina Moh, y el Secretario Ejecutivo de la Fundación Euroárabe, Antonio Sánchez Ortega.

Participatory approaches to the protection of places of worship is the title given to the forum hosted by the Government Delegation in Melilla on Thursday, organised by the Euro-Arab Foundation for Higher Studies in the framework of the PARTES project funded by the European Commission. The Government Delegate, Sabrina Moh, opened the event by thanking Melilla for having been chosen as the venue for this forum and pointing out the importance of working for the prevention of hate crimes, inter-religious dialogue, tolerance and respect.

“We are witnessing the emergence of messages of polarisation and tension, and I think it is vital to work to prevent hate crimes, which is something that we must do together institutions and entities while focusing on this issue so that society is aware of this problem and tools are put in place to put an end to it”, Moh indicated.

On his part, the Executive Secretary of the Euro-Arab Foundation, Antonio Sánchez Ortega, recalled that the aim of the organisation he represents is to create bridges of collaboration, knowledge and research. He therefore recognised that Melilla is a “privileged” place, as it is an “estuary of civilisations and cultures which perfectly demonstrates this coexistence and this model of participation”. Sánchez stressed that the results of these conference “will feed into the PARTES project and it will serve as a model for transfer to civil society”.

The working session was also attended by the representative of the European Commission’s funding programme, Tamara Muñoz, representatives of the State Security Forces and Corps, and members of the city’s religious communities, among other civil society organisations.

The PARTES project

The European PARTES project started on 31 March 2023 and is scheduled to end in April 2025. It proposes to develop, through an empirical, inclusive and participatory methodology, a comprehensive prevention model for the protection of places of worship (synagogues, mosques, and churches) in the European Union, thus also preventing hate crimes against religious communities.

The Euro-Arab Foundation leads the “Threats and Responses Overview” Work Package which coordinates the research to establish an overview of attacks on religious communities, hate crimes against them, and existing protection measures. It identifies also good practices for cooperation between religious institutions and public authorities, for the protection of places of worship. The Euro-Arab was also in charge of organising the participatory workshop in Melilla, held on Wednesday at the UGR, and the inter-religious forum on Thursday at the headquarters of the Government Delegation in Melilla.

Euroarab researcher and organiser of the PARTES conference in Melilla, José Luis Salido, giving the participatory workshop, held at the UGR.
Euro-Arab Foundation’s researcher and organiser of the PARTES conference in Melilla, José Luis Salido, giving the participatory workshop, held at the UGR.
Inauguración del taller participativo, celebrado en la UGR, a cargo de César Solano, decano de la Facultad de Ciencias Salud (UGR), Tamara Muñoz, responsable de programa de la Dirección General de Migraciones y Asuntos de Interior de la Comisión Europea y José Luis Salido, investigador de la Fundación Euroárabe y organizador de las jornadas.
Opening of the participatory workshop, held at the UGR, by César Solano, Dean of the Faculty of Health Sciences (UGR), Tamara Muñoz, Programme Officer at the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Migration and Home Affairs, and José Luis Salido, researcher at the Euro-Arab Foundation and organiser of the conference.
Meeting of the Euro-Arab researchers, José Luis Salido and Daniel Pérez, with Fadela Mohatar, Councillor for Culture, Cultural Heritage and the Elderly of Melilla and Marta Marzol, advisor for Culture of the Council, in the framework of the PARTES project conference.
Meeting of the Euro-Arab researchers, José Luis Salido and Daniel Pérez, with Fadela Mohatar, Councillor for Culture, Cultural Heritage and the Elderly of Melilla and Marta Marzol, advisor for Culture of the Council, in the framework of the PARTES project conference.
Inauguration of the forum 'Participatory approaches to the protection of places of worship' at the Government Delegation of Melilla, with the Government Delegate, Sabrina Moh, and the Executive Secretary of the Euro-Arab Foundation, Antonio Sánchez Ortega.
Opening of the forum ‘Participatory approaches to the protection of places of worship’ at the Government Delegation of Melilla, with the Government Delegate, Sabrina Moh, and the Executive Secretary of the Euro-Arab Foundation, Antonio Sánchez Ortega.
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EN Shield News Projects

The SHIELD project comes to an end with a Guide for the Protection of Places of Worship

Conferencia final de SHIELD
Conferencia final de SHIELD

On 28 February, the final conference of the European SHIELD project took place in Brussels with the presentation of the results as a formula for coexistence between people of different faiths. The event was attended by the programme manager of the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Migration and Home Affairs, Tamara Muñoz, as well as representatives from ten European countries and the three monotheistic religions (Judaism, Christianity and Islam). The project has aimed to identify and propose concrete solutions to burning issues of common interest, such as assessing the risk and vulnerability of places of worship to potential terrorist attacks, providing a comprehensive guide (downloadable here) to increase security.

SHIELD Handbook
SHIELD Handbook

During the two years of the project, SHIELD has hosted a number of dialogue meetings with the aim of countering religious extremism, with the co-participation of state security forces, society and security technology companies. The final recipients of the results of the SHIELD project, the representatives of religious communities, have played a decisive role in providing advice and suggestions based on cultural reflection when talking about the physical security of infrastructures, aspects such as the environment, culture, social inclusion and inter-religious dialogue are underlined.

José Mª Riera, researcher at the Euro-Arab Foundation for Higher Studies, participating in the final SHIELD conference.
José Mª Riera, researcher at the Euro-Arab Foundation for Higher Studies, participating in the final SHIELD conference.

At the final conference it became clear that 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. For those involved in SHIELD, it is necessary to create a cultural shield that defends individuals and religious communities, but it is also necessary to create opportunities to work and take part in projects that facilitate encounter and knowledge sharing. The establishment of projects such as SHIELD between diverse faith identities promotes mutual understanding and increases respect, a synergy that culminates in the development of a common strategy for the reduction of threats and the enhancement of religious freedom.

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EN Mirad News Projects

The Euro-Arab Foundation takes part in the 23rd Annual Conference of the European Society of Criminology (EUROCRIM)

Intervention by Josep García Coll at the Annual Conference of the European Society of Criminology, EUROCRIM

In a panel held this morning dedicated to the MIRAD project, Josep García Coll, researcher at the Euro-Arab Foundation, and Mariyan Sabev and Darina Sarafova, from the Centre for the Study of Democracy, presented a paper on ‘Assessine risk of violent extremism in prison and probation contexts’, focusing on the development of risk assessment tools, specifically for violent radicalisation of the extreme right and jihadist radicalisation.

The presentation outlined the main elements and risk indicators to be taken into account when carrying out risk assessments of people convicted of violent extremism offences. The development of these tools is motivated by the needs of professionals working on the front line with people deprived of liberty or who are moving towards probation or parole. The differentiation in the tools used according to the ideologies mentioned will improve the design and implementation of existing rehabilitation and reintegration programmes and thus achieve better results in the disengagement and reintegration into society of these persons.

Regarding right-wing extremism, research shows that the main risk factors include social marginalisation, perceived threats to traditional values, belief in conspiracy theories, anti-immigrant sentiment, political and social polarisation, economic insecurity, and exposure to extremist networks.

With respect to jihadist violent extremism, recent literature shows that the main risk factors are related to feelings of community grievances, complete distrust of the government and institutions, perceived ingroup superiority and other psycho-social factors like narcissism, sensation-seeking, cognitive closure or social alienation, amongst others.

The other two presentations held at EUROCRIM focused on ‘Training prison, probation and community staff on radicalisation and violent extremism: Results from a cross-sectoral and mixed-method training initiative‘ by IPS (Innovative Prison Systems) and on ‘Interinstitutional collaboration towards successful disengagement and social reintegration of violent and terrorist offenders‘ developed by the Centre for the Study of Democracy.

The MIRAD project (Multi-ideological Radicalisation Assessment towards Disengagement) is funded by the European Commission’s Internal Security Fund. The consortium is coordinated by the Emerging Security and Defence Team of the National Conservatory of Arts and Crafts in France (le cnam) and includes partners from Portugal, Poland, Bulgaria, France, Greece and Belgium, as well as the Euro-Arab Foundation in Spain.

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EN PARTES News Projects

The Euro-Arab Foundation participates in the PARTES project on the protection of places of worship

PARTES project (Participatory approaches to protecting places of worship) proposes a comprehensive model for the protection of places of worship (PoW) that is evidence-based, inclusive and participatory, in order to effectively combat the security threats posed to synagogues, mosques and churches in the European Union, thus also preventing hate crimes against religious communities.

The Euro-Arab Foundation is part of the consortium and leads the “Threats and Responses Landscape” work package, which coordinates research to establish an overview of attacks on religious communities, hate crimes against them and existing protection measures, as well as to identify good practices for cooperation between religious institutions and public authorities, and for the protection of places of worship.

PARTES aims to achieve the following objectives:

  • Map the specific threat landscape of involved religious communities (incl. cyber threats); 
  • Assess and derive lessons learned on vulnerabilities and existing security concepts of involved religious communities and exchange best practices on protective measures Europe-wide; 
  • Establish cooperation and communication structures and channels between religious communities and local authorities; 
  • Develop proactive and preventive security measures; 
  • Carry out trainings and workshops with religious and local authorities; 
  • Raise awareness among the wider population about the threat and strategies of extremist organisations targeting places of worship and involve them in prevention strategies. 

The methodology employed in the project is multi-disciplinary and participatory in nature, involving researchers and end-users within and beyond the consortium, and also citizens. PARTES employs a variety of methods, from desk research and interviews to live labs, workshops and dialogue forums.

The project seeks to make a significant contribution to the improvement of the overall protection of public spaces through the creation and enhancement of PoW’s preventive and security concepts by taking the threat landscape, the online dimension and pre-attack, preventive phases and measures into account, as well as by the newly established communication structures with authorities.

The motivation for this project lies in the recent trend of attacks and hate crimes, both in the digital and physical world, targeting places of worship in Europe and around the world. These attacks are symptomatic of a growing violent extremist phenomenon in Europe, fuelled by extremist rhetoric, ignorance of other religions and cultures, and insufficient societal engagement in preventing extremism.The project considers that this phenomenon needs to be addressed in a more complex way, going beyond architectural security and police presence.

PARTES is funded by the Internal Security Fund of the European Commission. The consortium involves experts of 15 institutions from 10 European countries, where the project coordinator is the Austrian Institute of International Affairs (oiip).

More information about the project on the official website: www.partes-project.eu

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EN Shield News Projects

SHIELD project virtual training on the protection of places of worship

The EU-funded SHIELD project is holding a virtual training on 17 May on the protection of places of worship for representatives of Christian, Jewish and Muslim communities.
The project aims at the interfaith protection of places of worship against possible terrorist attacks. This practical course taught in English will be held online behind closed doors with the project partners and attendees and will last five hours (10:00 – 15:00 CET).

This training session will involve law enforcement, security and risk detection experts and religious organizations. The objective is to train religious leaders in security and teach them how to quickly report suspicious behavior to the relevant authorities, as well as to sensitize their respective communities to the risk of a terrorist attack.

All participants will be trained on security measures, communication, cooperation and prevention. During the session, three specialized workshops will be implemented about each religious community, in order to prepare the different actors to face a possible attack taking into account their specific needs, in order to be able to adopt customized methodological, technological and procedural solutions.

SHIELD is financed by the Internal Security Fund of the European Union and is is comprised of 19 members from 10 countries (Austria, Germany, Belgium, Spain, France, Hungary, Italy, Romania, Poland and Portugal), including the Euro-Arab Foundation. The project is coordinated by the partner SYNYO GmbH from Austria.

You can find more information about SHIELD on its official website (https://shieldproject.eu)