The existence of the internet and social media has eliminated the boundaries and hierarchical processes for joining violent groups such as ISIS. In fact, some of them have often never met people from terror networks in real life. Ideology always plays an important role, but it is not the only main reason. The “need” to seek identity or recognition can be one of the reasons.

To deal with this phenomenon, we took the initiative to strengthen the role of Credible Voices, namely people who were once involved in terrorism then repented and became partners in preventive campaigns. In March 2018, we held a communication workshop for 10 ustadz, 10 ustadzah, and 10 former people who were once involved in terrorism. They received training so that they could produce alternative narratives in countering the campaigns of violent groups in the form of writing and audio visuals.

Ruangobrol was born to be a ‘showcase’ for alternative narrative products created by credible voices. We believe that narratives from credible voices can further influence the public in raising collective awareness of the dangers of violent extremism.

Along the way, Ruangobrol has won the 2021 “Intercultural Achievement Award” (IAA) as an “Alternative Narrative From Credible Voices” media from the Austrian Government. Ruangobrol has also been a partner of Facebook in preventing the spread of violent extremism narratives.

We also run the “Omah Betakan” community house in Yogyakarta to produce positive narratives. We use various communication platforms, including films, books, social media, and communication workshops in several countries, including: Indonesia, Singapore, Malaysia, the Philippines, and Turkey.

Alone we can only do a little, but together we can do a lot - (DR. Noor Huda Ismail) -