Inclusive Decision-making and Campaign: The Participation of Second Generation Migrants for Preventing Radicalization

Abstract

This paper deals with the analysis of the first results of Oltre project (ISF - DG Migration and Home Affairs, EU) funding for preventing the radicalization of the second-generation of migrants. The non-standard field research was intertwined with online social network profiles investigation. We present the off-line research results. Starting from the different dimensions of the risk of radicalization proposed by the kaleidoscopic overview of risk factors (Sieckelinck and Gielen 2018: 5; Ranstorp 2016), we created a topic guide for the indepth qualitative interviews collecting 42 interviews of 2G youths (18-30 years) in 7 Italian towns, interviewing also several privileged testimonies. Then we made focus groups with the target 2G and we organized theatre performances with 2G people (Theatre of the Oppressed) collecting narratives, representations, stories and emotions about second-generation youth lives and about their representation of the radicalization risk and protection factors. These heterogeneous materials are the corpus for imagining a social communication campaign to prevent radicalization, engaging the research participants as key players of communication campaigns, co-designing the counter-narrative contents (Institute for Strategic Dialogue, 2015) and their viral dissemination on the social network in order to promote cultural change (Volterrani 2018). References Ranstorp, M. The root causes of violent extremism. RAN issue paper, 4 January 2016. Sieckelinck S. and Gielen Amy-Jane, Protective and promotive factors building resilience against violent, RAN issue paper, April 2018. Institute for Strategic Dialogue, Counter Narratives and Alternative Narratives. The role of counter- and alternative narratives in prevention of radicalisation, RAN, 2015. Volterrani A., Participation and Communication in the Time of Social Media: A Chimera or an Opportunity, Sociology Study, May 2018.