Македонски центар за меѓународна соработка - МЦМС

Cooperation between civil society and state actors in the fight against extremism in Germany was the main topic of the study visit in which 15 representatives of the Macedonian institutions related to the National Committee for the Prevention of Violent Extremism and Combating Terrorism (NKSNEBT) and civil society organizations participated. The three-day intensive program (March 15 – 17, 2023) allowed the participants to meet a large number of representatives of German institutions and civil society organizations, to hear their experiences and to discuss the setting of the system of resocialization, rehabilitation and reintegration of returnees from foreign battlefields, of members of extremist groups, as well as for programs for the prevention of violent extremism. According to the participants, the experiences from the study visit are a good basis and a challenge for application in the Macedonian context.

Sabine Eckhardt, Head of Department in the Office of the Federal Chancellor and Sheila Alabei from the Department of the Interior introduced the participants to the activities for the prevention of extremism and de-radicalization from the point of view of the Federal Chancellor. They emphasized that in Germany they insist on prevention at all levels. "We invest a lot in the Ministry of Family", said Eckhardt and added that around 200 million euros are allocated annually for projects for these purposes, which are implemented by civil society organizations. Considering the federal arrangement of the country, the two host-speakers emphasized that the establishment of coordination between the institutions and the current coherent policy required time. Work at the local level is key, and the federal government provides the framework within which it takes place. The participants were interested in the way of establishing the teams working in the field; a sequence of what process the people who are part of them go through; how is the cooperation with civil society organizations, etc.

Fabian Wickmann, case manager from the Exit Germany project, spoke more about the practical experiences of family counseling. "Until now we have worked with 900 people and had different cases. We worked intensively and for a long time with some of them. We mostly worked with men, although we also had cases with women and children. For everyone, the requirement was to join voluntarily," Wickman said. Both Exit Germany and the Violent Prevention Network cooperate with the institutions at all stages.

Judy Korn, executive director and Sophie Schäuble, deputy director of the Violence Prevention Network spoke about 20 years of experience in working with target groups and institutions. They emphasized that during the creation of the resocialization program in prisons, they had the support of the state. The program has been operating since 2017 in all prisons in the country, and the number of clients so far is 2,000. Korn and Schäuble presented the numbers of right-wing extremists, the divisions between them and the numbers of those who left for Syria and Iraq. Coordination with the institutions (police-security services) is done once in two weeks.

Sascha Flagg, from the Department of Justice at the Berlin Senate spoke about resocialization in German criminal law. According to him, professionals working in prisons (social workers, psychologists, health workers) have the expertise to recognize and work with radicalized persons. "The exchange between institutions is very important in order to be able to support the person both in prison and after leaving it," says Flag and adds that they have support and expertise in their work from civil society organizations that work on this issue.

Through two cases from her practice, Kerstin Šiška from Nexus, Network for Psychotherapeutic-Psychiatric Counseling, explained to the participants clinical management in the field of preventing and combating violent extremism (CVE). Christian Hoppner from the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees spoke about the management of returnees from foreign battlefields and their families. He referred to the counseling center called "Radicalization", established in 2012 as the first place where citizens can call if they notice that someone in their environment shows signs of radicalization.

The German approach to repatriation, criminal prosecution and gender aspects in charges was discussed by Sofia Kohler, senior research analyst for CVE from the Counter extremism project. According to official data, a total of 1150 people from Germany went to the battlefields in Syria and Iraq. Of them, 25% were women. Some of those who left were not German citizens. For comparison, the number of those who died on these battlefields from all over Europe is around 5000 people. In December 2022, 40% of those who left returned to Germany. "Until 2017, the role of women in the Islamic State was not taken seriously. "Since 2018, there has been an increase in charges against female returnees," says Kohler. The total number of verdicts until December 2022 is 107, while 70 investigative procedures have been terminated due to lack of evidence.

Alexander Ritzman, senior advisor from the Counter-Extremism Project and the EU Radicalization Awareness Network, spoke about the financial strategies of the key actors of (right-wing) extremism and about effective countermeasures.

The participants of the study visit also visited the Ministry of Family, where they discussed the federal program "Let's live in democracy", which has been in existence since 2000 and not only refers to extremism, but also to other aspects of young people's lives. The programs of the Ministry are not developed behind closed doors, but in cooperation with all concerned, which is one of the reasons for their success, say the Ministry and their partners, civil society organizations.

Samira Benz, Coordinator for Prevention and Deradicalization from Islamic Terrorism spoke about the repatriation, rehabilitation and reintegration of returnees and the challenges of multi-agency work for the state of Berlin. Berlin's deradicalization network DeRadNet, which includes security agencies and civil society organizations, was part of the presentation by Felix Baechlin, who addressed the current trends in Berlin in this field.

The study visit is part of the program "Path to resilience and reintegration of vulnerable families in the community" which is supported by GCERF and implemented by MCMS in partnership with Nexus - a civic concept, the Initiative for a European Perspective (IEP), the Association for Active and Healthy Development of women and children "Pleiades" and the Association for civic activism and encouragement of social responsibility "Horizon Civitas".