A simulation that encourages young people to explore and discuss issues underlying violent extremism

Evidence shows that the long-term solution to tackling violent extremism lies in prevention.  The most effective way to prevent young people from turning to violence is to encourage open and honest conversations on attitudes, ideas and choices in a safe and positive environment.

What we did:

PlayGen developed an interactive simulation that encourages young people to explore and discuss the underlying issues and adverse influences, which can lead to divisions and tensions in communities. In two separate scenarios, the player faces a number of moral dilemmas in which their decisions will define their own outcomes and those of their friends and family.

Issues explored within the game include:

• Peer pressure and the seductive powers of adventure and secrecy
• Social exclusion, isolation and the effects of not fitting in
• Bullying, humiliation and exposure to violence
• Feelings of underachievement and the need for purpose and respect

Choices and Voices supports the Department for Children, Schools and Families (DCSF) Preventing Violent Extremism toolkit and contributes to specific areas within the citizenship, PSHE (Personal, Social, Health & Economic Education) and SEAL (Social and Emotional Aspects of Learning) curriculum.

The benefits:

• Promotes understanding and critical conversation on belief systems, as well as social and economic inequality.
• Helps young people to understand the ideas, attitudes and life experiences that may lead to violent extremism.
• Encourages productive teamwork in response to difficulties and grievances to get students to learn together, develop their social skills and empathy and work towards a safe and cohesive community.
• Emphasises commonality and respecting differences between students.

Feedback:

School Based Officers:

“It worked so much better than anticipated. It’s going to be a great tool for breaking the ice and getting the students to engage with subjects that may be difficult to bring up otherwise.”

“It's great to see them engage with something so quickly.”

Pupils:

“It's Sick!”  (Formerly known as Cool!) “It's better than the usual stuff we do at school”

“In the second scenario, being the leader was quite difficult. Even though it was a game, it felt real, and the peer pressure got to me. In the end I got evicted! This scenario was very effective.”

“I think this programme really helped me. It helped me in many ways to think about choices. It helped me to understand what good and bad can come out of choices.”

Advocates:

“We think this is an exciting new resource which builds on existing knowledge about radicalisation and engages young people in a non-dogmatic way.    We’ve seen one of the pilots and witnessed the animated discussion that ensued.  It is flexible enough to adapt to feedback from the students and therefore can be an ongoing resource. ”

Prof Lynn Davies (School of Education, Birmingham University and author of ‘Educating against Extremism’)

“It was fascinating to see this. If only there were more projects with this level of research. Tried and tested...”

Hannah Sheehan (DCSF Community Cohesion Unit)