Radical (Ex)Change — Preventing Radicalisation of Youth through Sport

A European network and a practical handbook for municipalities on using sport to prevent the radicalisation of young people at risk.

Radical (Ex)Change, the Network for the exchange of good practices on the integration of youngsters at risk of radicalisation through sport, took on a practical question for local authorities: what can a municipality actually do, through sport, to reach young people drifting towards extremism?

Working closely with the International Olympic Truce Centre, and the other partners, the University of the Balearic Islands and the European Multisport Club Association (EMCA), Save the Dream organised national expert focus groups in the five participating countries, bringing together 61 experts and panellists to gather good practice and compare it with current research.

The result is the Handbook on Preventing Radicalisation of Youth at Risk through Sport, a set of programming guidelines for European municipalities: how to assess the local situation, plan an intervention, choose partners, and avoid cases where sport reinforces the dynamics it is meant to prevent. The project closed with a final conference in Athens in December 2022, where the Radical (Ex)Change Network was launched.

Photo: Partners and experts at a hybrid Radical (Ex)Change working meeting.

PROJECT FACTS