Raising Awareness Event – Beyond the Game: Understanding the Risks of Extremist Exploitation in Online Gaming Spaces

The Wider Europe Programme of ELIAMEP is organising an open raising awareness event dedicated to an issue that increasingly concerns young people, parents, educators, and professionals: the extremist exploitation of online gaming environments. The event forms part of the broader awareness‑raising campaign implemented by ELIAMEP under the European project GEMS | The Online Gaming Ecosystem as a Multi‑Layered Security Challenge. 

As highlighted by GEMS research, online games function as vibrant social ecosystems, creative and positive for the vast majority of users, yet not isolated from risks. Extremist actors i use these environments to approach young people, spread hateful narratives, or normalise harmful behaviours. The event aims to provide  evidence‑based, and practical information, avoiding alarmism or the stigmatisation of players, and contributing to the strengthening of digital resilience and critical thinking.  

A central element of the event is the official presentation of the new GEMS guide for players, parents, and educators, developed by the ELIAMEP research team within the framework of the GEMS project. The guide explains how risks emerge in multi‑layered digital ecosystems, how escalation can occur under specific conditions, and how parents, educators, professionals, and young people can recognise early warning signs without panic or overreaction.  

The event also includes an interactive reflection session with participants, as well as contributions from experts in research, education, cybersecurity, the gaming industry, and mental health. Speakers will highlight the technical, social, and psychological dimensions of the phenomenon, offering practical advice for safe and healthy engagement with gaming. 

Through information, collaboration, and open dialogue, we can contribute to safer online gaming spaces and more resilient communities. This event represents another step in the broader European effort to empower societies against any form of extremist threat circulating in digital environments. 

The event will be held in Greek and is open to the public.

Registration is required. Please confirm your participation by 16 June 2026 by completing the registration form here. 

You can view the event programme in greek here.

You can learn more about GEMS project by clicking here.