South Asia hosts one of the world's largest youth populations, with one third or more of the population being under 25 years old. As digital connectivity expands rapidly across the region, online spaces have become central arenas for communication and civic engagement among young people. According to the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), 82 per cent of people aged 15 to 24 worldwide use the Internet, making young people the most digitally connected age group globally. These same spaces, however, are increasingly exploited by violent extremist actors who use social media platforms, gaming environments and AI-generated content to spread harmful narratives and recruit vulnerable individuals. Disinformation, online hate speech and the normalization of extremist narratives represent growing challenges for governments and civil society across South Asia.
In 2015, the UN Security Council adopted Resolution 2250 on Youth, Peace and Security, which marked a shift in the international community’s approach to prevention: young people are not only seen as the most affected by violent extremism but also as its most effective prevention actors. This recognition was reinforced in the Secretary-General's New Agenda for Peace (2023), which highlights the importance of enabling meaningful youth participation in efforts to address today's security challenges.
In line with its mandate under the United Nations Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy, UNODC supports Member States across Asia in building more inclusive and prevention-focused responses to violent extremism. A central part of this work is the three-year project Supporting Asian Countries' Resilience to Violent Extremism in the Digital Space, funded by the European Union and implemented jointly with UNDP. Through close collaboration with national governments and civil society organizations, the project aims to strengthen whole-of-society approaches to online radicalization prevention, with a particular focus on youth.
In South Asia, the project operates through the South Asian Network on Preventing and Countering Violent Extremism (SAN-PVE), bringing together PVE practitioners from Bangladesh, India, Maldives, Nepal and Sri Lanka to share good practices and develop regionally informed responses. From 19 to 21 May 2026, UNODC convened the Regional Workshop on Youth Engagement and Empowerment in PVE Programming and Online Responses to Violent Extremism in South Asia in Colombo, Sri Lanka. The event was designed – in the words of Mr. Enrico Lorenzon, Team Leader at the EU Delegation to Bangladesh – to recognise young people “not as a risk to be managed, but as partners in building resilient, inclusive and peaceful communities”.
Participants examined emerging digital trends shaping youth radicalization in South Asia, including the role of credible messengers, counter- and alternative narratives, and the growing influence of gaming platforms and online communities. Drawing on the GAMMMA+ model, an expert from the EU Knowledge Hub on Prevention of Radicalisation guided participants in exploring how governments and civil society can design more targeted and evidence-based narrative responses to violent extremism online. A dedicated session also featured representatives from social media and gaming platforms, who presented their trust and safety frameworks, content moderation approaches, and youth-facing initiatives for safer online environments.
In dedicated working groups, government officials and civil society representatives from each country translated these exchanges into concrete national guidance on youth engagement in preventing and countering violent extremism. Across delegations, several common insights emerged. Participants agreed that young people are most effective as prevention actors when they are involved from the design stage of programmes, rather than only during implementation. They also emphasized that locally rooted approaches (sensitive to language, culture and community dynamics) tend to be more sustainable than top-down models. At the same time, building trust between governments, civil society and youth actors was consistently identified as both a key challenge and a necessary condition for progress across all countries.
These guidelines will be consolidated into a regional document and shared as a practical resource for SAN-PVE practitioners, policymakers and civil society organisations across South Asia.
This activity was made possible with the financial support of the European Union.
