Professionals and experts analyze the social, symbolic, and subjective constructions of violence and how to address them in the conference “Extremisms and their violent derivations.".
On October 4, 2019, the conference titled “Extremisms and their violent derivations. Subjectivity and the social bond,” organized by the Catalan Foundation for Mental Health Congress and the Autonomous University of Barcelona, was held at the Official College of Physicians of Barcelona. More than 55 professionals from different fields and disciplines (health, social services, justice, education, security forces, among others) participated.
The day was structured around 4 discussion panels, understanding violence not as a natural occurrence, but as a complex social phenomenon that affects individuals and is reproduced in social and community bonds.
The first panel, “Radicalization and Violence,” featuring two guests of Italian origin, C. B. Tirantelli and L. Queirolo, discussed the construction of a public enemy and analyzed the structure and functioning of terrorist groups, focusing on the example of the Red Brigades in Italy.
In the second session, “Adolescence, Environment, Identity, and Violence,” the importance of the lack of personal, emotional, and social role models that young people can suffer from was explored. Additionally, the discrimination felt by many of them from different administrations was also discussed. In this regard, the two representatives from the Migraespai group (FCCSM) denounced that the problem lies not in the lack of resources, but in their insufficient dissemination and awareness. In this sense, they proposed the creation of a single web space, a platform where young migrants can easily access all the resources that the administration and various associations offer.
At the third table, “Youth and Ideologically Motivated Violence,” the discussion focused on the analysis of the narrative of far-right groups, presented by Miquel A. Tàpies; extremist groups of jihadist origin, presented by Rachid El Younoussi, director of InfoTalQual; and the anti-LGBTQ discourse, by José Benito.
The final panel, “Social Cohesion Policies in the Prevention and Rehabilitation of Violent Extremism,” provided a comprehensive overview of existing actions and resources from both the administration and organizations like IACTA and Iridia. This fourth panel delved deeper into the need to focus on origins rather than consequences to resolve potential conflicts.
The workshop was considered very positive by the attendees, and the FCCSM working group took on the task of continuing to advance the analysis and development of the different topics discussed.