The appeal of violent extremism is growing and is capturing the hearts and minds of some young people globally. In truth, the silent majority of them are positive change makers actively contributing to preventing violent extremism. A sense of disengagement and marginalisation leaves them vulnerable to recruitment, injustice, discrimination. In response to extremist violence, governments have taken action often through military force. But this approach only tackles the symptoms; it doesn’t address the factors driving participation in violent extremism. Oftenly, security responses further aggravate tensions and trigger more support for such ideologies. This approach often adds to the feeling of exclusion and fails to engage youth as key allies in building resilience against extremism.

This event is organised in the framework of the European Development Days and brings together key practitioners, experts and young delegates from different countries around the world to share their experience in preventing violent extremism at a local/community level. In doing so, the session aims to provoke important discussions on the kind of approaches that can be taken at a policy and programmatic level in order to encourage innovative initiatives aimed at preventing youth radicalisation. This debate aims to facilitate an exchange of views on how young people’s involvement in peaceful change can be strengthened, and how this can best be operationalised in EU programming. The discussion will be framed by the major global policy frameworks that promote young people’s participation in peacebuilding, namely Agenda 2030 and UN Security Council Resolution 2250.

Please click here for more information. Please contact Alexandra Matei to register your participation.