Table-Top Exercise on Preventing and Countering Violent Extremism (P/CVE) – 2nd PhaseIn the framework of the project: Support the Coordination Center for Countering Violent Extremism to deliver strategic communications on P/CVE through capacity building and research

On the 20th of September 2021, Center for the Study of Democracy and Governance conducted with employees from ministries and other dependent institutions the second phase of tabletop exercises, which were organized as part of efforts to support the CVE Center in delivering strategic communications on P/CVE through capacity building and research.

The tabletop exercise is the simulation of a real-life situation that engages key personnel in analyzing a scenario in an informal setting. The exercise is designed to be an open exchange of ideas that is encouraged to highlight extremes and differences in policies and procedures within the framework of violent incident response. This exercise is not a test of detailed response procedures, but rather emphasizes coordination of response to violent incidents, integration of resources, and problem identification and resolution during the exercise.

The exercise places participants in a game environment, pre-assigned to roles to help clarify responsibilities, frame contributions, and simulate creative dialogue on questions and circumstances provided by project facilitators. Participants were encouraged to discuss the actions they would take in a particular situation, testing their emergency plan in an informal, low-stress environment. The specific purpose of this exercise was to explore information sharing and inter-institutional cooperation mechanisms related to strategic communication and incident management related to violent extremism, as well as to examine policies, plans and protocols for responding to incidents of violent extremism and highlight possible gaps. Also, this exercise aimed to improve the overall response to incidents of violent extremism as well as the process of joint decision-making.

At the end of this exercise, the participants managed to identify the deficiencies in the strategic communication plan and P/CVE incident management, including the technical, planning and procedural aspects.