Yet governments are painfully aware that there will not be sufficient resources to protect everyone from the terrorist attacks perpetrated by radicalised individuals.
Creating a global conversation
In this backdrop, UNESCO MGIEP initiated an online conversation with nearly 5,000 people from all over the world to share experiences and ideas related to the role of education in preventing violent extremism. They heard from a diverse group of young people including those affecting change in conflict zones and those who have been changed forever by conflicts and violence in their communities. Forty-three young people from around the globe including United Kingdom, India, Sri Lanka, Peru, France, Lebanon, Burundi, Bolivia, Pakistan, Russia, South Africa, Macedonia, Indonesia, USA, Benin, Italy, Kenya, Hong Kong, Germany, Libya, Democratic Republic of Congo, Mali, Mexico, Afghanistan, Morocco, Egypt and Bangladesh convened in New Delhi to transform these conversations into an action plan.
The first international conference on the Prevention of Violent Extremism through Education: Taking Action (PVE-E) was co-organized by UNESCO and the UNESCO Mahatma Gandhi Institute of Education for Peace and Sustainable Development (MGIEP), on September 19-20, 2016. Over 220 participants from around 70 countries including ministers of education, senior education policy-makers, experts and youth activists in the field, came together to build a common understanding about how education systems can appropriately and effectively prevent violent extremism. UNESCO’s work in this area is being undertaken within the framework of its ongoing efforts to promote Global Citizenship Education (GCED) and support country implementation of Target 4.7 of the Sustainable Development Goal 4 on Education.
At the conference, UNESCO MGIEP also hosted its first Talking Across Generations on Education (TAGeDelhi) event on September 21, International Day of Peace, in which 30 selected youth delegates from around the world engaged in a forthright dialogue on the prevention of violent extremism through education. The goal of the conference was to build a common understanding among senior education policy makers from around the world about the educational interventions and approaches that are needed to ensure that education systems contribute appropriately and effectively to the prevention of violent extremism. This writer was the only Bangladeshi youth to have been selected to participate in this prestigious conference.
The United Nations Global Counter Terrorism Strategy, which has been in existence for over a decade, was reviewed at TAGeDelhi to reinforce prevention measures. The plan of Action Against Violent Extremism report released by the UN Secretary-General in Executive Board at its 197th session made a decision on UNESCO’s role in promoting education as a tool to prevent violent extremism, highlighting the crucial role that education can and should play to prevent violent extremism through building resilience in the minds of the young.What role can education play?
Violent extremists are not born, but are created through the engineering and implementation of heinous strategies. But why do people engage in such actions and what can education do to prevent this from happening? Education imparted in schools can play a very pivotal role in combating violent extremism, which is a result of many factors like marginalisation, discrimination, poverty etc. This was constantly highlighted at the conference. Discussing what entails the real reasons behind impressionable minds taking to extremism, Soo-Hyang Choi, director, Division for Inclusion, Peace and Sustainable Development, UNESCO Headquarters, said that apart from alienation, the prospect of stable employment, earning money and strong leadership in a well-structured environment were some of the ‘push and pull’ factors for rising xenophobia.
Taking the plenary session further, George Godia, Ambassador of Kenya to UNESCO, said that schools must impart education that is relevant to employable sectors. “Labour skills must form an important part of curriculum as it increases job prospects, and in the process, protects youth from getting waylaid by extremists.”
The conference also made five recommendations proposed in the UNESCO guide, namely developing education policies for inclusion and diversity, promoting safe and supportive school environments, building resilience and fostering constructive engagement, identifying students at risk and building partnerships.
It was also recommended that the youth delegates form a Global Youth Council to promote education as a tool to prevent violence and to build peaceful and sustainable societies as a way forward.