Thursday June 12
11am to 12.50pm
Online
Click here to register your attendance
As part of the SMIDGE (Social Media Narratives: Addresssing Extremism in Middle Age) project, a series of webinars have been organized and led by the Kosovar Centre for Security Studies (KCSS). Entering the third and final year of project implementation, it is essential to develop knowledge-sharing initiatives and foster collaboration with other projects in the field.
The SMIDGE 5th webinar, titled Radicalisation and Extremist Narratives – Quo Vadis?, aims to bring together researchers and practitioners to exchange insights and experiences. This event will create an opportunity for interdisciplinary discussions and synergies between SMIDGE, ARENAS, and OppAttune, as well as other relevant initiatives and stakeholders.
Objectives
● Facilitate the exchange of knowledge among similar research initiatives.
● Foster collaboration among stakeholders to enable collective responses to radicalisation and extremist narratives.
● Encourage cross-project discussions on policy recommendations and practical interventions. Organisers: KCSS and Inclusive Europe Moderator: Dan Ilazi, KCSS Speakers: Project representatives (SMIDGE, ARENAS, OppAttune) 1 Project Overviews
● SMIDGE (Social Media Narratives: Addressing Extremism in Middle-Age) SMIDGE examines how online narratives, including conspiracy theories and misinformation, spread and evolve, with a focus on individuals aged 45-65. This generation plays a vital role in shaping public discourse, bringing experience and influence to social and political discussions. By better understanding their online engagement, our research seeks to empower individuals with tools to navigate the digital platforms confidently and contribute to a more informed society.
● ARENAS (Analysis of and Responses to Extremist Narratives) The ARENAS project looks at extremist narratives that affect political and social life in Europe. It examines the nature of these narratives and seeks to understand the discourses they impact, particularly about science, gender and the nation. By understanding how these narratives work, ARENAS will empower people to resist them. To foster a spirit of people living together in harmony across Europe, policy recommendations will be made as to how to prevent such narratives from taking hold in the future.
● OppAttune (Countering Oppositional Political Extremism through Attuned Dialogue) OppAttune aims to develop an innovative Attunement Model which will track, attune, and limit the spread of extreme political narratives. The focus of the project is not on discourse which incites violence or engages in hate speech. Rather, on the spread of extreme narratives through seemingly ‘common sense’ discussions about polarising issues which create an ‘everyday extremism’. Everyday extremism is the gradual inclusion of extreme narratives, sentiments, and attitudes into the conversations of political actors and the general public, which then become normalised and acceptable
Organised by:
KCSS and Inclusive Europe