Case Study 1: Preventing Violent Youth Radicalisation—Large-Scale Pilots in the UK, Greece, Cyprus, Italy, Sweden, Romania, and Portugal
摘要
The first case study aims at testing this book’s hypothesis by piloting its innovative positive approach to preventing violent radicalisation and extremism focusing on youth and by using positive criminology, positive criminology and restorative justice. The case study is based on a project that was carried out between March 2017 and February 2020, and involved pilots in the UK, Greece, Cyprus, Italy, Sweden, Romania, and Portugal. The project was led by 75 young people who were trained by a consortium of seven European NGOs to conduct their research from the bottom up. It combined secondary and primary fieldwork as well as pilots in four environments: youth offending institutions, schools, universities, and online. In total, the project directly engaged with and spoke to 3540 individuals from 16 to 78 years old from across Europe. Overall, positive results were recorded in all four piloted environments with some variations depending on location. This impact was observed both in terms of the trained professionals as well as the ultimate beneficiaries of youth at risk. Pre- and post-evaluation field trials over a 6-month period were carried out to validate the results. Moreover, attitudinal surveys that were also carried out with an international audience pointed out the need for an alternative prevention philosophy, highlighting the practical value of youth empowerment and youth work.