Extremism Information Centre (Beratungsstelle Extremismus)
- Österreich
- Start Date: 2014
The Extremism Information Center (EIC) represents a countrywide point of contact in Austria offering information and advice concerning questions on extremism (politically or religiously motivated extremism such as right-wing extremism or jihadism).
The EIC is located at bOJA (Bundesweites Netzwerk Offene Jugendarbeit www.boja.at), the nationwide network for open youth work. BOJA is a service for networking for Open Youth Work as well as a specialized centre for quality development in the field of open youth work. BOJA is part of the VNDP Viennese Network on Deradicalization and Prevention (see Practice 2, AEI) as well as of the international Radicalization Awareness Network (RAN).
EIC offers a free helpline, personal consultation as well as further education and training aiming de-radicalisation and spreading of prevention strategies for teenagers and young adults.
See: bOJA: „Jugendarbeit wirkt“ (free translation: „bOJA: Youth work is functioning“) (October 18, 2016): https://www.ots.at/presseaussendung/OTS_20161018_OTS0112/boja-jugendarbeit-wirkt
Since the EIC focuses on all forms of extremism affecting young people it gains the potential of transferability to any region and country facing this phenomenon.
The team at EIC consists of psychologists, teachers, adult educators as wells as cultural and social scientists.
EIC works together with Family Counselling Centers and institutions of open youth work from all over Austria.
For further information please see:
https://www.beratungsstelleextremismus.at/info-expertise/partner_innen/
The EIC is set up by BOJA and funded by the Federal Ministry of Family and Youth of Austria. No information is openly available on the exact cost of setting up or maintaining the centre, although it being a mostly online platform/tool, the cost is assumed to be low. Personnel expenses for those manning the advice-hotline, as well as the part- and full-time trainers, may incur medium-scale costs, however.
• Becker, Reiner; Palloks, Kerstin (Hg.): Jugend an der roten Linie. Analysen von und Erfahrungen mit Interventionsansätzen zur Rechtsextremismusprävention. Wochenschau Verlag 2013.
• Glaser, Michaela; Greuel, Frank (Hg.): Ethnozentrismus und Antisemitismus bei Jugendlichen mit Migrationshintergrund. Erscheinungsformen und pädagogische Praxis in der Einwanderungsgesellschaft. Halle 2012; auf: http://www.dji.de/bibs/96_15504_Ethnozentrismus_Antisemitismus_%20bei_%20Jugendlichen_mit_Migrationshintergrund.pdf
• Werner Prinzjakowitsch (January 2017): The preventive role of open youth work in radicalisation and extremism. In INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF OPEN YOUTH WORK 2017, p. 66-87. http://www.newman.ac.uk/files/w3/research-centres/pdf/International_journal_of_open_youth_work.pdf?q=644#page=66&zoom=auto,-361,581
• Bilanz Beratungsstelle Extremismus (May 2017) https://www.beratungsstelleextremismus.at/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/Bilanz-Beratungsstelle-Extremismus_Dez_14_Mai_17.pdf
• bOJA: „Jugendarbeit wirkt“ (free translation: „bOJA: Youth work is functioning“) (October 18, 2016): https://www.ots.at/presseaussendung/OTS_20161018_OTS0112/boja-jugendarbeit-wirkt
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Anyone having questions on the subject of extremism can anonymously contact the Extremism Information Center for further information and advice, face-to-face counselling, expertise as well as workshops and lectures.
The advisory service is free of charge from all over Austria, anonymous and confidential.
It remains a relevant topic considering the fact that jihadism does not seem to be reducing in many European states, and indeed right-wing extremism is on the rise. The centre’s focus on anonymity allows for any concerned citizen to step forward, and therefore remains accessible for parents, teachers, vulnerable or concerned young people and others. The sharing of information directly into those communities can help build resilience, alleviate some of the drivers of extremism by allowing parents/teachers to more easily engage with young people, and be a useful point of contact for concerned citizens when individuals are displaying violent extremist behaviour but are afraid to report to the police.
Statistics regarding the Helpline (December 2014-May 2017)
• Calls
o 2399 calls in total, thereof 1251 initial calls
o 115 families in counselling programmes
• Groups of callers
o Relatives or family member (22%)
o Social workers (16%)
o youth workers (16%)
o social workers in refugee camps (16%)
o teachers (16%)
• The biggest concern of the callers with more than 40% of the cases was the suspicion of Islamic extremism, although this was rarely a matter of radicalization in the direction of violent extremism but intercultural and interreligious matters or protests of youth. Other extremist attitudes were subject in 5% of the cases. 6% respectively 4% of the caller were concerned about racism and right-wing behaviour. In 15% of the cases violence was the problem. Information, networking and the request for further education opportunities were a topic in 14% respectively 10% of the cases. Suspicious content on the Internet and suspicious behaviour of individuals was reported in 7% respectively 5% of the cases.
Education and training (December 2014 – May 2017)
• 320 educational workshops with 6800 participants
• Schools and universities 25%
• Open youth work hubs14%
• Information hubs 10%
• Public institutions and authority’s 8%
• Other institutions: Employee Services, Police, penitentiaries, family counselling centers, refugee housings.
Networking
• RAN – Radicalisation Awareness Network
• SAVE (Sisters against Violent Extremism) – Women Without Borders (See Practice 1, AEI)
• OSCE
• VNDP (See Practice 2, AEI)
• Platform EXIT_B Salzburg (See Practice 3, AEI)
• Prevention Network in Vorarlberg, Think Tank “Families in Lower Austria and Deradicalisation”
• Family counselling centers
• Open youth work hubs
Inclusiveness of stakeholders/actors involved in the practice/response:
The counselling center works closely with centers for open youth work, family counselling, information centers, schools, regional networks on extremism and prevention, as well as other institutions and organizations from all over Austria.
The homepage of the EIC (www.beratungsstelleextremismus.at) is available in German, English, Bosnian/Croatian/Serbian, Russian, Turkish, Arabic and Farsi. If necessary, interpreters are available in other languages too.