Working Together to Address Violent Extremism: A Strategy for Youth-Government Partnerships
As countries articulate and implement their P/CVE strategies, this document provides guidance on how government and youth can work together in addressing violent extremism at the national and local level, recognizing youth as partners in peace and agents of positive change. Recommendations and findings are based on: online consultations and interviews with youth-led organizations and government officials engaged in P/CVE, a subsequent side event at the 2016 United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) focused on youth-government partnership in CVE, and desk research. The consultations and UNGA event took place from August to October 2016.
Research Process and Methods
In August and September 2016, Search for Common Ground worked with seven of its country offices and four partner organizations to hold online consultations and interviews with youth, youth-led organizations and government officials engaged in P/CVE in fourteen countries across three continents. The objective was to learn about: a) their work, including the drivers of violent extremism in their contexts and the results of their interventions, b) the challenges and opportunities in engaging with government and public institutions, and c) their recommendations for partnership going forward.
In total, 122 individuals (118 youth, including 34 women, and 4 government officials) from Bangladesh, Cameroon, Indonesia, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Morocco, the Netherlands, Niger, Nigeria, Pakistan, Somalia, Tunisia, and Sri Lanka took part in these conversations. These individuals were interviewed because they work on P/CVE in countries dealing with violent extremism. Ages ranged from 17 to 38, and the average age was 27. (See Appendix E and F for information on participating individuals/organizations and questions used to guide the consultations.) In addition to the consultations, over 300 youth responded to a poll posted through a Youth and P/CVE Facebook Group (with over 3,000 members) asking about what they see as the drivers of violent extremism. The poll listed similar drivers to those voiced through the consultations and offered an “add your own option”.