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To promote diverse approaches on counter-terrorism (CT) education for the youth, Inter-departmental Counter Terrorism Unit (ICTU) has recently launched a series of activities and publicity initiatives, including the thematic workshops and the publication of the first CT-themed comic book.
Since March this year, ICTU and Police Clinical Psychologists from the Psychological Services Group have organised a series of thematic workshops for different professions engaging in youth work. More than 3 100 teachers from kindergartens, primary and secondary schools attended. ICTU has also reached out to nearly 1 000 medical and social welfare professionals. These workshops covered the identification of early signs of radicalisation, skills of psychological support and case sharing, with a view to enhancing the professionals’ ability to identify the underlying extreme ideologies and high-risk behaviour amongst the youth. These professionals were encouraged to report any suspicious situations and cases for timely follow-ups.
Furthermore, ICTU, in partnership with the One Country Two Systems Research Institute, have jointly compiled and published the first CT-themed comic book titled “Community Shield: Youth Chapter”, together with a teaching package for schools. The objective of this package is to elucidate the threat of radicalisation, provide recommendations on handling such threats through lively and interesting comic book stories, and enhance the public’s awareness on CT and emergency preparedness. Three main points are illustrated in the stories, i.e. the reasons of the popularity of extremism, the process of radicalisation and its behavioural characteristics. With the full support and coordination of the Education Bureau, copies of the comic book and the teaching package were distributed to all primary and secondary schools in mid-July. Teachers may adapt their teaching flexibly according to the students’ progress. Other community shareholders may also download the electronic version for reading and further dissemination.
In the future, ICTU will continue to foster cooperation with different sectors to enhance the public’s CT awareness by garnering the support from the community, as well as promoting the “Spot and Report” campaign to achieve the “Whole-of-Community” approach in CT.
