Hedayah E-Newsletter Updates Upcoming Activities 24- NOV 6 DEC - 25 NOV 8 DEC Counter Terrorism Interreligious Alliance Conference CVE Research Conference 2015 *Dates subject to change or cancellation Capacity Building on Returning Foreign Terrorist Fighters with IIJ From early 2016, Hedayah and the International Institute of Justice joint program hopes to engage with three selected countries. The program will involve scoping visits which will be followed by a series of interactive workshops for senior government official, civil society actors and regional subject matter experts. Developing an awareness raising product to build resilience against online radicalization in target countries Hedayah will be developing a short awareness raising seminar on the threat of online radicalization. The objective is to raise awareness and build resilience through a simple product that can be distributed to communities in target regions. Providing introductory training to Somali officials on CVE Hedayah will be a partner for an EU-funded program to design and implement training for Somali officials. The aim of the two workshops Hedayah organizes will be to draw out local expertise and formulate concrete solutions. Ongoing suite of CVE workshops by Hedayah and United States Institute for Peace (USIP) Hedayah s longest running program has been the joint CVE workshops with the USIP. The workshops focused on the themes of education, media and messaging, civil society and community policing. Preparatory training for Global Community Resilience Fund (GCERF) In January 2016, 25 GCERF sub-grantees from Mali, Bangladesh and Nigeria will be invited to Abu Dhabi to analyze the local drivers of violent extremism and showcase good practice approaches to building effective CVE projects that directly respond to these drivers. Activities Hedayah and USIP organize Empowering Communities for CVE: Strategies for Engaging Youth workshop From 20-22 October 2015, Hedayah and USIP organized a joint Capacity Building Workshop entitled Empowering Communities for Countering Violent Extremism: Strategies for Engaging Youth. This workshop convened community actors from six different countries where there is a significant
threat of violent extremism (VE). Interactive sessions at the start of the workshop discussed the drivers of violent extremism, drawing out participants own expertise on their local environment. Elements of global good practice on Countering Violent Extremism (CVE) Programming were then discussed, with a focus on youth as both the target audience for the radicalizing narrative and also the potential target for CVE interventions. Over the course of three days, participants were invited to use a more developed understanding to create and develop a vision and strategy to foster engagement approaches and reduce risks and factors leading to radicalization among youth in their country. In line with the workshop objectives, everyone involved enhanced their understanding of the factors that lead to youth radicalization and all were better equipped to design and deliver more effective responses to this complex challenge. Read more. Hedayah convenes workshop on Role of Women in Countering Radicalization and Violent Extremism at Madrid+10: Stop Violent Extremism conference From 27-28 October 2015, Hedayah attended the Madrid +10 2015 Global Policy Dialogue organized by the Club de Madrid and the International Centre for the Study of Radicalisation (ICSR) in Madrid, Spain. Hedayah was also a knowledge partner in the event and facilitated a two-day thematic workshop focused on the role of women in countering radicalization and violent extremism. This workshop aimed to expand on the existing international policy and good practices frameworks through articulating specific programmatic and policy recommendations. Former Presidents, HE Andres Pastrana, President of Colombia (1998-2002), HE Laura Chinchilla, President of Costa Rica (2010-2014) and HE Alejandro Toledo, President of Peru (2001-2006) delivered the welcoming remarks during both days of the workshop. Mr. Maqsoud Kruse, Executive Director of Hedayah, moderated both panel discussions of the workshop on: Countering Female Radicalization and Recruitment and Integrating Women in Countering Radicalization and Violent Extremism Programs and Policies. Ms. Sara Zeiger, Senior Research Analyst, emphasized Hedayah s efforts in empowering women to counter violent extremism as the Center is leading an ongoing project on the differing roles of women by creating a platform for authors contributions to be published as a final volume on Women and Countering Violent Extremism. Mr. Ivo Veenkamp, Deputy Executive Director of Hedayah, also presented his insights and advise on countering violent extremism and education on the Educators in dialogue, youth in debate: countering violent extremism workshop. The discussions at this workshop, along with the other workshops, will feed into the Global Consensus document, which is being drafted through four working groups with support and oversight by Club de Madrid. Read more.
Hedayah and USIP organize Understanding Media and Communications for Countering Violent Extremism workshop From 3-5 November 2015, Hedayah and USIP organized a workshop on Understanding Media and Communication for Countering Violent Extremism. This workshop convened civil society actors and government officials from Kenya, Pakistan and Nigeria to share perspectives on the role of media and communications in radicalization and de-radicalization processes. After an initial session during which the drivers of violent extremism (VE) were discussed, participants had the opportunity to present their experiences and build upon their expertise in media. Over the course of three days, participants were invited to brief their colleagues on their goals in counter-extremism communication campaigns with the aim of fostering and creating a common vision and strategy to enhance engagement and reduce risks leading to radicalization. The workshop also encouraged dialogue between civil society and governments in each of the three countries, where ideas of collaboration projects and partnerships were explored. Hedayah delivers training for the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs From 12-13 November 2015, Hedayah delivered a tailormade workshop for Dutch diplomats in response to a request by the Dutch Minsitry of Foreign Affairs in the Hague,The Netherlands. Hedayah representatives, Mr. Ivo Veenkamp, Deputy Executive Director, Mr. Patrick Lynch, Director of Training and Capacity Building and Ms. Saira Saeed, Training and Capacity Building Program Manager offered extensive insights and led the following sessions on: 1) The Lexicon and Conceptual Framework of Countering Violent Extremism and Analyzing the Drivers of Violent Extremism, 2) Experiences and Elements of Good Practices on CVE for Non-Government Organizations, 3) State level responses, and the development of national strategies, 4) CVE within the International Counterterrorism Framework. Outreach Hedayah presents at the Subcommittee on Security and Defense (SEDE) Meeting on Revised EU Strategy for Combating Radicalization and Recruitment to Terrorism On 15 October 2015, Hedayah took part in the Subcommittee on Security and Defense (SEDE) Meeting on the Revised EU Strategy for Combating Radicalization and Recruitment to Terrorism hosted by the European Parliament in Brussels. During the meeting, Mr. Maqsoud Kruse, Executive Director of Hedayah provided an overview of the current work of Hedayah and highlighted its objectives. He exchanged views on ways, means and best practices to
counter violent extremism. These include: education as a crucial tool in countering radicalization, the pressing need to address the foreign terrorist fighters (FTFs) phenomenon and addressing the communications threats posed by extremist groups. Hedayah takes part in the Athens International Conference on Religious and Cultural Pluralism and Peaceful Coexistence in the Middle East From 18-20 October 2015, Hedayah participated at the International Conference on Religious and Cultural Poluralism and Peaceful Coexistence in the Middle East hosted by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Greece in Athens, Greece. The conference aimed at providing an opportunity for a comprehensive dialogue among all of the regional and international actors through reasserting the values of protection of human life, tolerance, pluralism, peaceful coexistence, multiculturalism and multireligiosity. During the conference, Mr. Maqsoud Kruse, Hedayah Executive Director, provided an overview of the mission and leading efforts of Hedayah, as well as its expansion of a CVE toolkit to address current terrorist threat and prevent future ones. Hedayah presents at the Round Table on the Role of Education and Youth in Preventing Urban Violence and Countering Violent Extremism On 21 October 2015, the Inter-agency Network for Education in Emergencies (INEE) hosted a Round Table on the Role of Education and Youth in Preventing Urban Violence and Countering Violent Extremism at the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in Geneva, Switzerland. Ms. Sara Zeiger, Hedayah Senior Research Analyst, presented on the basic concepts of CVE as well as Hedayah s model for CVE and Education policy and programming. The meeting was an opportunity to discuss the Abu Dhabi Memorandum on Good Practices for Education and Countering Violent Extremism (click here to view) together with representatives from the education sector. As INEE plans to continue their work on countering violent extremism, Hedayah will work closely with INEE to share good practices, lessons learned and experiences from the CVE community. Hedayah presents at the UNESCO 38 th General Conference on Education to prevent and Counter Violent Extremism On 6 November 2015, Hedayah participated in the High-Level Side Event on Preventing Violent Extremism through Education to UNESCO s 38th General Conference in Paris, France. Mr. Ivo Veenkamp, Hedayah Deputy Executive Director, presented Hedayah s work and insights on CVE and Education and on the Abu Dhabi Memorandum on Good Practices for Education and CVE to the Ministers of Education and their delegates at the high-level working lunch.
Ms. Sara Zeiger, Senior Research Analyst, presented a more in-depth overview of possible CVE and education policy and programming examples at the afternoon technical sessions. Mr. Ivo Veenkamp also moderated a technical session on community-based informal education. Hedayah also expressed interest in joining the public-private partnership organized by the US Mission to UNESCO in order to conduct activities on preventing and countering violent extremism through education. Hedayah delivers keynote speech at the National Innovation for Price for Law Enforcement On 9 November 2015, Hedayah delivered the keynote speech at the awarding ceremony of the National Innovation for Price for Law Enforcement in The Hague, The Netherlands. The theme of the prize this year was Innovation in the approach of radicalization and terrorism. During his keynote speech, Mr. Ivo Veenkamp, Deputy Executive Director of Hedayah, gave an overview of global CVE themes, insights and practices.