Understanding to Respond: Youth Work and Radicalisation

Have you ever wondered what radicalisation really looks like in practice? Have you come across young people whose views or behaviours made you feel uncertain, but you weren’t sure how to respond? Do you sometimes question how to recognise early signs - or how to address difficult conversations without shutting young people down? Have you ever wondered if there was a moment when you could have intervened to prevent a young person from becoming radicalised? Have you questioned how to do so without overstepping your role - or felt unsure or even helpless in such situations?

This international training course invites youth workers and youth work practitioners to explore how radicalisation develops, how beliefs and narratives shape young people’s attitudes, and how youth work can play a meaningful role in prevention and response.

The training follows a step-by-step learning journey - from understanding key concepts and mechanisms, to exploring online environments and narratives, and finally to developing practical tools and strategies for youth work. Through experiential learning, reflection, and peer exchange, participants will strengthen their competences in communication, dialogue facilitation, and resilience-building.

All applicants will be informed about the selection results latest on September 10th.

Objectives

- To develop a shared understanding of radicalisation and violent extremism;

- To explore how beliefs, identity, and narratives influence young people;

- To examine the role of online environments in shaping attitudes and behaviours;

- To strengthen participants’ ability to recognise early signs and risk factors;

- To equip participants with practical tools for communication and dialogue in sensitive situations;

- To support youth workers in building resilience among young people;

- To create space for exchange of practices across different countries;

- To learn about Erasmus+ and European solidarity corps programmes and how they can be used to support building more resilient communities.

Methodology

The training is based on non-formal education and combines theory, practice, and reflection.

Participants will engage in:

- Interactive sessions and facilitated discussions;

- Case study analysis and real-life scenarios;

- Experiential learning activities (e.g. simulation and game-based learning);

- Creative and reflective exercises;

- Peer exchange and group work.

The programme includes innovative methods such as:

- An educational escape room (RadEscape) exploring radicalisation pathways;

- Dialogue facilitation using digital tools;

- Exploration of wall of belief and narratives;

- Self-awareness and communication exercises.

The programme also includes an online onboarding meeting for selected participants on 13th October at 15.00-17.00 Central European Time. In the onboarding meeting participants will learn more about each other, about the agenda of the training, about Erasmus+ and European Solidarity Corps programmes and about some important practicalities.

What Participants Will Gain

By the end of the training, participants will:

- Understand how radicalisation processes develop;

- Recognise the role of beliefs, narratives, and online environments;

- Gain tools to respond to challenging views and situations;

- Strengthen their communication and dialogue facilitation skills;

- Develop strategies to support resilience in young people;

- Create concrete action plans for their own practice;

- Connect with a network of youth workers across Europe;

- Gain knowledge about Erasmus+ and European solidarity corps programmes.

Target Group

This training is designed for:

- Youth workers (including for example school youth workers, outreach youth workers, social youth workers and other specialized youth workers);

- NGO staff and practitioners in the youth field;

- Youth work educators and trainers working with young people.

This training is not suitable for:

- Formal education staff (teachers, school curators, school nurses etc.);

- Other professionals who are not working in the youth field / in youth work;

- Other individuals (such as students etc.) with personal interest of the topic.

Participants should:

- Be actively working with young people;

- Have a relevant role in youth work;

- Be interested in topics related to radicalisation and youth work;

- Be willing to share experiences and actively participate in all sessions.

Safety, accessibility and sustainability

In this event, we follow the principles of a safe space. We strive to ensure that everyone is met as their own self and that no one has to fear discrimination or harassment. We expect you to respect the same principle.

Our activities are accessible to people with different abilities. If you need an accessible room, an accessible transport, to bring a personal assistant with you or other kind of support, we will provide it for you. Please tell us about your individual needs beforehand, so we can support you in your participation.

We take sustainability in consideration wherever we can. Since most of the participants have to fly over the sea to Finland, we encourage you to travel on land within Finland. We also encourage you to contact your own National Agency to find out how they support low emission travelling to activities abroad.

We provide plant-based meals, or use locally grown and produced foods, as much as possible. We also respect the diets and food allergies of all participants.

The Strategic Partnership on Inclusion (SPI)

The activity is part of the Strategic Partnership on Inclusion (SPI). The Strategic Partnership for Inclusion is a Strategic National Agency Cooperation. It aims to increase the participation of young people with fewer opportunities and facilitate access of new organisations in the Erasmus+ and European Solidarity Corps programmes. For detailed information please view: www.salto-youth.net/rc/inclusion/inclusionfornas/spinclusion

This training course is organised under the NEET-strand, but it has a cross-thematic approach which connects to other strands of the SPI.