4th Deakin Religion and Development Roundtable

Religion, Development & Approaches to CVE/PVE (Countering/Preventing Violent Extremism) 

Countering Violent Extremism (CVE) / Preventing Violent Extremism (PVE) covers a broad spectrum of activities. Public attention has been largely on security and counter-terrorism, but there is growing recognition CVE/PVE needs to also address underlying drivers, such as humanitarian crises, poverty, inequalities, governance, and human rights violations. All of these can crush legitimate aspirations and contribute to people/groups radicalising. CVE / PVE thus increasingly focusses on activities like social cohesion and community resilience, as well as peacebuilding, sustainable development, and addressing marginalisation, discrimination, human rights violations and socioeconomic opportunities.

Australian Community Development organisations and International Development agencies have long play a very significant role in implementing these sort of activities, and are thus increasingly being invited to link their work into CVE/PVE initiatives. For example, the 2016 UN Secretary General’s Plan of Action to Prevent Violent Extremism agreed on the following key priorities:
1. Dialogue and conflict prevention
2. Strengthening good governance, human rights and the rule of law
3. Engaging communities (participatory action to solve local issues, based on human rights)
4. Empowering youth (to take up the causes of peace, pluralism and mutual respect)
5. Gender equality and empowering women
6. Education, skills development and employment facilitation (as part of the struggle against poverty and marginalisation)
7. Strategic communication (supporting young activists and artists combat violent extremist narratives online, through music, art, film, social media, etc)

On 1 March 2017, DFAT launched a new policy framework for Development Approaches to Countering Violent Extremism, aimed at including CVE activities across Australia’s aid program. Likewise, the Attorney General’s Department and a range of state government agencies have supported a range of programs framed around social cohesion, community resilience and counter-narratives, and seek to engage with development agencies in this. Thus both international and community development agencies are increasingly being invited to link their work into CVE/PVE initiatives.

This roundtable symposium is a conversation between policy makers, industry professionals and academics. The day will proceed as a series of 10-15 minute presentations, followed by group discussion. Full written paper, for those writing them, are due early 2018, and can thus be written after the event in the light of discussions.

 All welcome to attend, but please register by email to [email protected], for catering purposes

Details
When: 9.00 am to 5:00 pm, 25 October 2017
Where: Burwood Corporate Centre, Level 2 Building BC.