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While community engagement is a commonly recognised by Australian law enforcement, security agencies and community groups as a mechanism for social cohesion and countering radicalisation, successfully engaging with target audiences is challenging. Given the<\/span> downward trend of the ages of Australians engaging in violent extremism<\/span><\/a>, it\u2019s vital that community engagement programs appeal to young people\u2019s interests. Community elders or religious leaders who are often involved in such programs may not always fit that category.<\/span><\/p>\n The Australian Intervention & Support Hub (AISH), a joint initiative between the Australian National University and Deakin University, recently launched its<\/span> archive of studies on radicalisation and terrorism<\/span><\/a>. At the launch, Hub co-director Greg Barton<\/span> identified<\/span><\/a> \u2018secondary intervention\u2019\u2014the practice of identifying potential extremists and providing them with mechanisms for community engagement and family support\u2014as an area Australian law enforcement and security agencies need to improve on. <\/span><\/p>\n The underlying theory informing the Hub\u2019s ongoing research on understanding why people join Islamic State is Maslow\u2019s Hierarchy of Needs. Maslow\u2019s Hierarchy includes<\/span> belonging, self-actualisation and esteem<\/span><\/a> as drivers influencing people\u2019s behaviour. The importance of those factors in the context of Islamic State recruitment has been highlighted by Barton, who<\/span> referred<\/span><\/a> to \u2018the need for friendship, belonging, for being esteemed, for being part of a larger team and having purpose\u2019 as potential characteristics of young people vulnerable to radicalisation.<\/span><\/p>\n One Victorian government reference describes<\/span> \u2018public participation\u2019 as one avenue of community engagement<\/span><\/a>, with an emphasis on \u00a0the importance of affiliation or identity, such as with sport clubs. Given Australia\u2019s rich sporting culture which provides avenues for achievement and has been greatly strengthened by diversity, it\u2019s worth exploring how it can be leveraged to increase social cohesion among young people, some of whom might be considerably vulnerable to extremism.<\/span><\/p>\n Earlier this year, the Australian Rugby League Commission was one organisation which received some of the<\/span> Multicultural NSW\u2019s Community in Partnership (COMPACT) program<\/span><\/a> funding ($8 million) to counter violent extremism across the state. The focus of the COMPACT grant is to facilitate early intervention by<\/span> finding alternative pathways for young people who could be attracted to violent extremism<\/span><\/a> and develop community resilience to reduce the impact of radicalisation. In making the announcement, Minister for Multicultural Affairs John Ajaka<\/span> stressed the need to use sporting venues<\/span><\/a> rather than places of worship to reach relevant individuals. While it\u2019s difficult to measure results at this point, similar programs indicate potential for success.<\/span><\/p>\n One such program is the Australian Football League\u2019s Bachar Houli Cup and Leadership Program, which<\/span> has been granted $625,000 in federal government funding<\/span><\/a> to facilitate a youth mentoring program, traineeships and transitional pathways to employment, as well as Iftar and Eid events to engage with communities and foster cultural awareness. Given the AFL has been tarnished with<\/span> recent instances of intolerance,<\/span><\/a> this is one way for sporting bodies to celebrate diversity and acknowledge its key role in Australian society.<\/span><\/p>\n The program appears to build on the \u2018More Than a Game\u2019 program, developed by the AFL in association with the Australian Federal Police,<\/span> Western Bulldogs Football Club<\/span><\/a> and the Hobson\u2019s Bay Council. That program uses to sport to engage with young men whose experiences may make then vulnerable to radicalisation, to<\/span> address issues of social cohesion, encourage community participation and provide skills to address intolerant messages<\/span><\/a>. The partnership with law enforcement is significant given the<\/span> AFP\u2019s recognition of the need to engage third parties in the community<\/span><\/a> to counter violent extremism.<\/span><\/p>\n A Victoria University<\/span> evaluation<\/span><\/a> found that such programs succeeded in developing resilience and cross-cultural awareness in the community, with particular success in engaging at-risk youth in civic engagement and responsibility. It also highlighted the capacity to develop pro-social behaviours, trust and a greater sense of social inclusion. However, it gave consideration to the difficulties in measuring the impact of sports participation on crime and violence prevention. So instead of supporting such programs specifically to counter violent extremism, perhaps it\u2019s more sensible to measure their success when we use them to enhance community engagement, with CVE a by-product of this. That\u2019s significant as it\u2019s important those programs aren\u2019t used to generalise particular groups as vulnerable to radicalisation.<\/span><\/p>\n In order for such sporting programs to succeed, they need to address factors which might obstruct individuals from engaging with the broader community.<\/span> Western Sydney women’s AFL pioneer Amna Karra-Hassan<\/span><\/a> plays with Muslim women who play their sport in body tights and hijabs as part of the uniform. Programs which facilitate engagement opportunities for women are particularly significant given<\/span> the rising number of young Australian women who have joined extremist activities overseas<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n Those initiatives won\u2019t work for every individual, and it would be counter-productive to try to force everyone who could be deemed \u2018at-risk\u2019 of radicalisation into football teams of some variety if they have no genuine interest in the game. Furthermore, selection criteria for those programmes is unclear, as is how they\u2019re publicised within communities. That potentially highlights a vital gap in communication strategy, which is one aspect of community engagement which cannot neglected. However, such programs are a positive step in the right direction.Australia would be wise to continue to tap into the interests of young people to identify areas which could foster social inclusion and make them resilient to extremist ideologies before they even encounter them.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" While community engagement is a commonly recognised by Australian law enforcement, security agencies and community groups as a mechanism for social cohesion and countering radicalisation, successfully engaging with target audiences is challenging. Given the downward …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":282,"featured_media":27011,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mi_skip_tracking":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[317,273,809],"class_list":["post-27010","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-general","tag-community-engagement","tag-counterterrorism","tag-cve"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n