Webinar – ORPHEUS: Fostering Young People’s Resilience Against Violent Extremism
Thursday 16 February 2023, 15:30 – 17:00 GMT, online (UK)
The ORPHEUS project: Fostering resilience in young people against violent extremism through novel online and offline prevention interventions.
Cybercrime Awareness Clinic Seminar Series
School of Criminology and Criminal Justice
The ORPHEUS project (2019-2023), funded by the EU Commission’s Interreg 2Seas, developed an innovative prevention model to assist with tackling the risk factors that can lead young people towards violent extremism in democratic societies. Our goal was to provide youth workers, educators and policymakers with the knowledge and tools to support young people and foster their resilience to extremist narratives and also allow young people to air their grievances by creating safe spaces for them in a post-pandemic, hybrid world. The ORPHEUS project interventions target the interplay of different risk factors for violent extremism and promote an innovative, well-being oriented approach that emphasises the agency of young people and their role as part of the responses to violent extremist narratives and risks.
In this 90-minute webinar will provide an overview of:
- the ORPHEUS rationales and core concepts;
- the training packages and other relevant resources created to upskill professionals working with young people as well as educate young people themselves;
- the ORPHEUS policy recommendations, designed to support the upscaling and embedding of the ORPHEUS model within the 2 Seas area and beyond.
The webinar will conclude with a panel discussion and Q&A featuring representatives from the ORPHEUS project partners.
Attendance is free of charge, but please register in order to receive the event link.
Speaker Biographies:
Dr Vasileios Karagiannopoulos, University of Portsmouth
Vasileios has graduated from Athens Law School and has completed an LLM in Information Technology Law and a PhD in Law at the University of Strathclyde Law School with distinction. Since 2014 he has been working at the School of Criminology and Criminal Justice at the University of Portsmouth, where he is now a Reader in Cybercrime and Cybersecurity. Vasileios has led the design and launch of a BSc in Criminology and Cybercrime in 2018 and he is the Director of the Cybercrime Awareness Clinic, an innovation hub that has secured funding from Hampshire Constabulary, The National Cyber Security Centre, the Centre for Research and Evidence on Security Threats, the Economic and Social Research Council and EU Interreg 2 Seas to work on various cybercrime awareness projects with vulnerable groups and organisations. Vasileios has published extensively in national and international journals and magazines in relation to cybercrime and information technology law and politics as well as Internet regulation, cyberawareness and research ethics and participates regularly in national and international academic and practitioner conferences. Vasileios has won the National Cyber Award for Cyberawareness in 2020 and a High Commendation in 2022 for his Clinic work and was named Privacy Leader of the Year in Academia at the PICCASO 2022 awards.
Hilde Lauwers, City of Mechelen
Hilde Lauwers is project manager of the ORPHEUS project and works for the City of Mechelen (Belgium), who is lead partner in this project. She studied history and has a track record in research coordination and in qualitative research on young people’s life worlds. She has mostly worked around well-being, vulnerability and empowerment, voice and agency.
Bart Van Bouchaute, Lecturer, Artevelde University of Applied Sciences, Ghent
Bart Van Bouchaute studied social work and political sciences. He is lecturer at the social work programme at Artevelde University of Applied Sciences Ghent (BE) where he coordinates the programme ‘Politicisation in social work’. He collaborated as a researcher at ORPHEUS (Interreg), more specifically on the issues ‘dealing with controversial issues’ and ‘supporting young people in their struggle against injustices’.
John Webster, Portsmouth City Council
John Webster has worked for Portsmouth City Council for 5 years supporting the education sector in preventing violent extremism. Prior to this he worked in education for over 15 years where his last job was Head Teacher of a Primary school. John sees the development of skills (critical thinking and media literacy) within young people as key to reducing the risk of radicalisation. John has specific interests in the far right and the online space. He has contributed to the DfE’s working group to produce guidance and a toolkit for schools on PVE. He also led a pilot project into Out-of-School-Settings that sought to raise awareness of the safeguarding implications and to empower parents. John was the education officer on the 2seas Interreg funded project Orpheus (2019 – 2023) that worked in partnership to build resilience within young people, strengthen online safety measures and develop an EU prevention toolkit for violent extremism. He is currently completing a part-time degree in Business Leadership.
Charlie Pericleous, Portsmouth City Council
Charlie Pericleous, Portsmouth City Council Charlie has worked for Portsmouth City Council for 13 years delivering the United Kingdom’s Prevent strategy and supporting victims of hate crime. Charlie was the operational manager of the hate crime service at Portsmouth City Council between 2011-2015, but also worked for Hampshire Police as the coordinator for hate crime, vulnerable adults and missing persons. Charlie has assisted in delivering innovative projects to address Far Right extremism and promoting e-safety within Portsmouth. Charlie is a member of the European Union’s Radicalisation Awareness Network (RAN) and has begun a research degree in PVE policy at the University of Portsmouth. Charlie is now a project officer on the 2seas Interreg funded project Orpheus (2019 – 2023) to work in partnership to build resilience within young people, strengthen online safety measures and build an EU prevention toolkit for violent extremism.
Youcef Naimi
Youcef works as a counsellor and coach for Ceapire, a centre of expertise on prevention and extremisms. There he teaches courses and gives workshops on cultural sensitivities, bias and awareness to civil servants and government bodies, such as the police, teachers and city councils. He offers counselling to minors to help with their re-entry into society. Besides this, he is also often invited to moderate different online and offline safe spaces.
Find out more information and book your free place here: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/orpheus-fostering-young-peoples-resilience-against-violent-extremism-tickets-516529793517