Investment in innovation and education at regional level is key to preventing youth radicalisation

Y-Factor conference 2015 gathered local politicians, practitioners and representatives of the private sector at the European Committee of the Regions (CoR) to discuss the growing risk of young Europeans getting radicalised. They called for greater engagement with regional authorities, which are most directly affected by the phenomenon, and more support for innovative solutions to tackle the problem.

Young Europeans joining Islamic terrorist groups has become a focal concern for local and regional authorities (LRAs). So far an estimated 3000 - 5000 Europeans have travelled to the Middle East and North Africa to join such organisations. This was the topic of the second edition of the [Y] Factor Conference, organised by trainees of the CoR to discuss solutions with local politicians, practitioners and representatives of the private sector. The focus was put on creating new opportunities of growth and employment for the youth by investing on innovative entrepreneurial initiatives in strategic sectors such as ICT and social media.

CoR President Markku Markkula opened the debate calling for greater investment in education for young people to help them realise their full potential and deter them from radicalisation. A point shared by Péter Krekó, Director of the research institute Political Capital: "The role of education at a local and regional level is the most powerful tool we have. It is a way of creating better people that are more respectful to each other". Furthermore, Krekó suggested that first line practitioners, such as: teachers or community workers; should support more politicians in shaping youth policies. "Our experience shows that this exchange of views is one of the ways to achieve more fruitful results", he explained. Indeed terrorist attacks such as the ones of Copenhagen and Paris earlier this year have demonstrated that local communities are often the most deeply affected by radicalisation. Therefore, their 'on-the-ground' expertise should be shared among other regions, stakeholders and practitioners.

Furthermore, the rise of unemployment rate has been often associated to young Europeans becoming more radicalised. Mr Markkula argued that "the lack of opportunities provides fertile ground for extremist groups to exploit anger, frustration and marginalisation. To address this challenge we need to look for innovative solutions to foster inclusive environments for young people to thrive in".

Making better use of social media through positive messaging against extremist groups' was mentioned as an example of an innovative solution. Donald Holbrook, senior research fellow at the Centre for Study of Terrorism and Political Violence, said: "Individuals become convinced that violence is the solution to their problems - that's where communication plays a huge role. We can, and should do more to spread a positive message". He highlighted that extremist groups are exploiting on line platforms to spread their propaganda. Ali Fisher, a data scientist of the University of Vienna, used the Islamic State (IS) as an example: "The IS is uploading a lot of material to try to convey that it is running a viable State", he said. Speakers agreed that censorship actions such as taking down these extremist websites are not effective. Instead, "we should also adapt to the new technology, target our audience and then spread our message", as Merel Molenkamp, an adviser at consultancy agency RadarAdvies, put it.

In addition, CoR member Jean-François Istasse assured that radicalisation cannot be defeated through security measures alone. "There has to be a political will, especially at the local level. But to do so we need engagement and proposals from the European Commission, which should shoulder the responsibility", he concluded.