Home to the world’s largest youth population, South Asia is experiencing an unprecedented surge in digital connectivity. More than a billion people are now active in the digital space across the region, many of them adolescents. For most, social media, messaging apps and online games have become everyday spaces to meet others and engage with the vast digital content available. Despite the enormous transformational potential of digital spaces to be used for human development and positive global connectivity, digital spaces have also emerged as a central arena for malign actors, including terrorist and violent extremist organizations.
Using increasingly sophisticated tactics across diverse platforms, violent extremist organizations disseminate propaganda in different languages to appeal to broader segments of society and enhance their recruitment efforts. They use a combination of in-person and digital engagement, along with regional and cross-regional networks, to further their objectives globally. In some South Asian countries, estimates indicate that more than four out of five arrests relating to violent extremist threats in recent years involved individuals radicalized through social media, underscoring the central role of these platforms in recruitment. In response to these trends, there is growing global recognition of the urgent need to invest in youth empowerment, including by equipping young people with the digital awareness and resilience needed to prevent and counter terrorist and violent extremist narratives in the digital space.
Using increasingly sophisticated tactics across diverse platforms, violent extremist organizations disseminate propaganda in different languages to appeal to broader segments of society and enhance their recruitment efforts. They use a combination of in-person and digital engagement, along with regional and cross-regional networks, to further their objectives globally. In some South Asian countries, estimates indicate that more than four out of five arrests relating to violent extremist threats in recent years involved individuals radicalized through social media, underscoring the central role of these platforms in recruitment. In response to these trends, there is growing global recognition of the urgent need to invest in youth empowerment, including by equipping young people with the digital awareness and resilience needed to prevent and counter terrorist and violent extremist narratives in the digital space.
Against this background, UNODC convened a three-day “Regional Workshop on the Role of Youth in Upholding the Rule of Law and Enhancing Strategic Communications to Prevent Violent Extremism in in the Digital Space in South Asia” in Tokyo on 2-4 December 2025. The workshop was co-funded by Japan and the European Union, implemented as part of the overall pan-Asia project on “Supporting Asian Countries’ Resilience to Violent Extremism in the Digital Space” (2025-2028), jointly implemented by UNODC and UNDP, and funded by the European Union.
Opening the workshop, State Minister Horii Iwao stressed that multi-actor cooperation, including with private companies, is essential to counter the growing threat of recruitment targeting youth through digital spaces and expressed his earnest hope that this workshop would further deepen the partnership between Japan and South Asian countries in countering terrorism and violent extremism. In his remarks, Mr. Roberto Arbitrio, Chief of UNODC’s Terrorism Prevention Branch, highlighted the need to shape the digital environment to protect young people and the value of working in close partnership with international experts to identify red flags and solutions. The Ambassador of the European Union to Japan, H.E Jean-Eric Paquet, emphasized that “the EU is actively working to strengthen regional networks for the prevention of violent extremism in Asia. The South Asia Network on Preventing and Countering Violent Extremism plays an important role in advancing strategic communications that counter harmful narratives and empower youth voices online. This regional workshop in Tokyo is a concrete step to turn that mandate into action.”
The workshop brought together members of the South Asian Network on Preventing and Countering Violent Extremism (SAN-PVE) – involving government and civil society representatives from Bangladesh, India, Maldives, Nepal, and Sri Lanka– alongside gaming and social media industry, and NGO representatives focusing on preventing violent extremism (PVE) in the digital space, as well as international experts on strategic communications in the digital space. Over three days, participants exchanged national experiences, shared good practices and explored how strategic communications can better protect young people in the digital space.
Over thematic sessions and interactive discussions, national representatives and experts mapped the digital landscape of youth and violent extremism and shared their experiences in developing and implementing strategic communications campaigns. They described a complex digital landscape where violent extremist organizations evade detection by shifting across platforms and exploiting services such as gaming, scams or ‘homeschooling’ via messaging apps. Examples from South Asian countries illustrated shared challenges, such as AI-enabled propaganda, and diverse national responses, from community-based counselling and rehabilitation programmes to youth-led digital activism and peacebuilding initiatives.
Building on these discussions, social media and gaming companies presented various approaches to digital safety, including platform policies, and both proactive and reactive approaches – using both automation and human-intervention – to identifying violent extremist content and users for investigations and/or removal. Practical tools for strategic communications such as the GAMMMA+ model, a vital development of the European Union’s Radicalisation Awareness Network, were also presented as a framework to counter terrorist and violent extremist propaganda in the digital space.
The workshop concluded with a discussion on practical recommendations and next steps to enhance the prevention of violent extremism in the digital space at national and regional levels in South Asia, and to further cooperation and capacity building under the SAN-PVE framework. Participants also agreed on the importance of strengthening evidence-based strategic communications, including relatable, youth-centric content that addresses grievances and offers positive alternatives.
The meeting was made possible thanks to the generous co-funding support of the European Union and the Government of Japan.
