Counter Extremism Project leading effort, backed by State Department and White House, with multi-nation kickoff event September 28.
(New York, NY) – The Counter Extremism Project (CEP) announced today it will co-host the “Global Youth Summit Against Violent Extremism,” an event supported by the U.S Department of State and driven by the power and ideas of young people in the fight against extremism.
The public-private effort, which will be co-hosted by Search for Common Ground, will take place on September 28 in New York City as the kickoff to the launch of the One95 global youth effort to build resilience against extremism.
The “Global Youth Summit Against Violent Extremism” will draw more than 100 youth activists and government officials to New York city from dozens of countries, including Afghanistan, Egypt, Iraq, Kenya, Nigeria, and Pakistan, during the annual high-level United Nations General Assembly session.
Key Department of State officials will address participants at the day-long event, co-hosted by CEP, a nonpartisan international action and policy organization formed to combat the growing threat from extremist ideology.
“The nature and scale of the partnerships on display at the Global Youth Summit Against Violent Extremism is unprecedented and signals the beginning of a sustained and determined movement to tackle the tragedy of youth radicalization head-on,” said Ambassador Mark Wallace, CEO of the Counter Extremism Project. “The Summit is the launch of a year-round, global initiative supported by CEP’s One95 platform to ensure innovation and progress continue through next year’s summit and beyond.”
The Summit will serve as the kick-off of CEP’s One95 counter-narrative campaign, which includes a new website that will give the young activists a year-round platform for discussion and idea-sharing, and access to a counter extremism based educational curriculum that can be widely adapted and shared. Influential private sector leaders including Facebook have committed to support the event, laying the foundation for additional international public-private partnerships focusing on youth-led, community-based solutions to extremism.
One95 gets its name from the 195 countries in the world and the one goal of uniting the voices of every nation to end extremism. The One95 summit and platform will be a key part of CEP’s efforts to develop diverse solutions to counter extremism – one of the most serious threats of our time.
Since launching one year ago, CEP has fought successfully to expose the financial support networks that enable extremist groups; pressured social media platforms like Twitter to do more to prevent the hijacking of their platforms by extremists to radicalize, recruit, and incite violence; and expanded into Europe to become an international resource for governments, media, NGOs, and the public concerned about extremism.
In response to growing radicalization of young people, the “Global Youth Summit Against Violent Extremism” will gather, engage, and feature new ideas on how to best build resilience in each of the communities represented. Instead of solely attacking radicalization from the top down, the Global Youth Summit will be an opportunity for young people to engage their peers in the development of locally-sourced answers that address societal challenges.
Discussions, breakout sessions, and panels will be held onsite throughout the day. State Department-sponsored grants will be awarded to individuals and groups whose ideas and initiatives are judged promising or ready to scale. The participants will discuss and address issues, including digital disruption to combat extremists’ online propagandizing and recruiting; community-based counter messaging and dissemination to highlight tolerance, pluralism, and social cohesion; and education-based approaches to preventing extremism.
Participants will be producing strong, action oriented ideas, and results, with key recommendations being presented at the Leaders’ Summit on Countering ISIL and Violent Extremism that President Obama will convene at the UN on September 29.
Members of the press are invited to attend. For more information, please contact [email protected].