01-02-2021, Srinagar: Members of “Save Youth Save Future” organised the latest event of series of full-day trainings as part of the project “Free 4 Youth: Fighting radicalization to enhance e-strategy for a youth-comprehensive approach towards on-line terrorism”.
The trainings were hosted in Sonwar Srinagar and were attended by 80 people. The event consisted of three main sessions. The first one was training for front-line practitioners on the topic of radicalization, push and pull factors, environmental factors, recruitment tactics of terror organisations, as well as real life case studies.
The second session was a training with local authorities on the topic of counter and alternative narratives to radicalization. Among the audience there were also a Brigadier and a Major General from the Indian Army. The trainers first gave examples of the so-called ‘terrorist narratives’ and juxtaposed the discourses of various terrorist entities operating in the region of Jammu & Kashmir. They further explained how terrorist organizations systematically rely on particular online narratives in order to indoctrinate, radicalize and recruit new members, while maintaining and justifying their activities. Thus, by analyzing their discourse, key terminology, structure, messengers, mediums and objectives the trainers emphasized the importance of deducing what is the underlying logic behind them and develop a counter and alternative message, which would ultimately create a counter and alternative culture to those extremist ideas and ideologies and prevent them from spreading.
The last session was a roundtable between civil society, youth and relevant stakeholders, titled “Importance of Collective Identity: Reviving ‘Kashmiriyat’ and Challenges”, which aimed at discussing the collective identity of the Kashmiri people and emphasise the importance of living together in harmony, peace and tolerance. The event was welcomed with great enthusiasm on behalf of the audience. Notably, lots of the parents and elderly relatives of the young participants also attended the event and loudly appreciated the steps taken towards the betterment and positive development of their local youth.