The motivation for the AMALTHEA project stems from Europe’s need to prevent and counter violent extremist (VE) programming and create lasting security through gender-sensitive approach. Current approaches still lack thorough gender-sensitive data collection and analysis, while feminist analysis of politics and extremism illustrates the role of gender in extremism leads to the identification of early radicalisation tendencies and how to tackle them.

The European Commission has deployed a platform called Strengthening Resilience against Violent Extremism (STRIVE) to set the foundations of definitions towards countering violent extremism (CVE). However, the EU acknowledges that traditional counterterrorism policies are still not enough to stem violence and proactive prevention is needed. As such, the EU’s strategy has focused on four pillars towards CVE, respond, protect, pursue and prevent. These pillars require close collaborations between governments, communities, civil society and private sector actors to implement CVE programs on local, regional and international levels. Frequently the role of gender is a key component in CVE programs as it is interpreted as the empowerment or engagement of women. As such, the prevention strategy includes an intersectional approach to VE and a multi-layered understanding of societal factors leading to VE.

In order to understand the causal relations, manifestations and mitigation practices of violent extremism, the relationship between gender and extremism needs to be critically examined. In this context, it is also important to address how the inequal socialisation can become the drive of violent extremism by bringing the feminist and intersectional perspectives into research design, data collection and analysis. These investigations can look closely into social connections, community belonging, traumas and empowerment narratives.

The project’s ambition

The AMALTHEA project seeks to address these gaps by leveraging innovative research and advanced AI to create, manage, and share deep knowledge on gender-related radicalisation. By combining intersectional, post-colonial, and gender-stereotype analyses, AMALTHEA aims to understand the motivations, societal contexts, and extremist narratives that drive radicalisation. The project will provide policymakers, practitioners, and institutions with tailored insights while exploring the experiential dimensions of radicalisation. Through advanced knowledge modelling, scenario simulation, and collaborative AI platforms, AMALTHEA enables real-time multi-stakeholder engagement, ensuring that prevention, deradicalisation, and policy strategies are inclusive, effective, and firmly evidence-based.

To achieve its ambition, the project has defined 5 objectives:

• Create knowledge for LEAs, CSOs, social support professionals, teachers and other P/CVE practitioners.

• Facilitate knowledge management and information sharing among all stakeholders involved in CVE to improve understanding of the role of gender in VE/CVE.

• Deliver innovative and tailor-made tools that will build capacities for LEAs and CSOs in gender-responsive identification, prevention and mitigation of VE.

• Validate, assess and ensure openness and replicability of results.

• Shift the VE and CVE ecosystem at EU level to a comprehensive approach based on gender-specific research and innovative gender-sensitive solutions, promoting women’s and girl’s leadership and peaceful coexistence and the active engagement of men and boys.

ITML’s role in the project

In the AMALTHEA project, ITML acts as a key technology provider, contributing its expertise in AI-based information sharing and recommendation systems. ITML is central to the project’s development, leading the architectural adaptation of the solution, the creation of information-sharing interfaces for optimal user experience, and the deployment of the collaborative simulation platform. Furthermore, ITML acts as the Innovation & Openness Manager, being responsible for innovation management and the establishment of the initial framework for dissemination and communication.