UNITED KINGDOM
Commitment She trains institutions and communities in resilience and in how to develop a robust safeguarding framework for tackling radicalisation, and advises key stakeholders on countering violent extremism, focusing on the education sector and gender. On the basis of her previous policy work on CVE, terrorism and faith, she strongly advocates engagement and dialogue on matters of faith and integration, and is keenly interested in alternative narratives that discredit or disrupt extremist narratives.
Organisation PREVENT Fatima is currently directing a multi-agency effort to prevent individuals from being drawn into terrorism or support for violent extremism through PREVENT, a program of the UK Government’s counter terrorism strategy.

Educational
and critical
thinking

We must stress the basic values that

are common to all religions:

         compassion, solidarity and respect

          for the human person.

  Kofi Annan, speech at the Bali Democracy Forum, 2016

Making young people more aware through education and critical thinking is the first defence against violent extremism. Education should prepare young people for life in the modern world; this means it should also equip young people to identify and ultimately reject online and offline extremist propaganda.

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Education

Education should equip young people with the skills they need to detect extremist propaganda, make informed decisions, and question the legitimacy of extremist content. Education:

Promotes dialogue by developing the ability to think and discuss.
Nurtures critical thinking, digital literacy, and the skills required
to challenge violent extremist propaganda.
Enables young people to question the legitimacy and appeal of extremist beliefs.
Builds confidence and increases emotional intelligence.
Cultivates resilience in the face of extremist messages.
Acts as a mass inoculation device.
Creates global citizens by instilling a strong sense of moral and
civic duty.

Take action

Education is a form of primary prevention. To counter violent extremism, it needs to be:

Practitioner-led. Involve people who have de-radicalised, as well as frontline workers such as the police, prison officers, teachers, youth workers, and religious leaders.

Targeted and specific. Address
the specific factors that radicalise individuals, taking account of gender, location and, of course, age.

Proportionate to the risk identified. Recognise the symptoms of violent extremism, avoid discrimination against specific groups, protect privacy
to the extent possible, etc.

Youth-led. Young people can build trust with people their own age, and are in the best position to support prevention and prevent the radicalisation of their peers.

We say

Continue to use educational resources as a primary tool to prevent violent extremism.

Empower educators to understand and spot the signs of emerging violent extremism.

Incorporate nuanced, gender-sensitive learning in primary prevention initiatives.

Recognise the key role of young people in safeguarding other vulnerable young people.

UNITED KINGDOM

Commitment

Organisation

Educationaland criticalthinking

Education

Take action

We say

Meet our young leaders and learn more about their projects

Educational
and critical
thinking

Meet our young leaders and
learn more about their projects