With the spread of radicalization and the ever more use of the internet for promoting violence, networking among violent extremists and even identifying and attracting volunteer forces from among the youth – a population of one billion and two-hundred million individuals (from 15 to 24)- which are mainly unemployed, uneducated and an unclear future awaits them, have altogether prompted the need to consider ways to prevent illegal usage of the Internet for promoting violent extremism and radicalization among youth.
The Information for All Programme of UNESCO’s Communication and Information Sector organized the Conference “Youth and the Internet. Fighting Radicalization and Extremism” from 16 to 17 June 2015, at UNESCO Headquarters in Paris, in collaboration with IPDC and other UNESCO sectors and supported by Bulgaria, the People’s Republic of China and Egypt. The meeting was attended by representatives of over 70 nations, the civil society and the media. The UNESCO Director General, Madam Bokova, reiterated UNESCO’s transparency with regard to using the ICTs for promoting peace and constructive dialogue and explained the launch of the new UNESCO Framework for Action “Empowering Youth to Build Peace: Youth 2.0 – Building Skills, Bolstering Peace”.
Following this successful event, the Government of Quebec established the CPRMV (The Center for the Prevention of Radicalization Leading to Violence) on 16 February 2016. The center is playing an important role in conducting research, building capacity and supporting the sharing of information and expertise across communities and government services. UNESCO’s Director General welcomed this initiative, looking forward to its fruition: “UNESCO’s message is clear – we must build the defenses of peace in the minds of young women and men, including through the internet, to promote human rights and equal dignity, to support engagement and advance narratives of humanity as a single community around shared values, to counter radicalization and violent extremism”.
On 12 February, in a meeting of Mr Couillard of the Quebec Government with the UN Secretary General, H E Ban Ki-moon, the issue of the importance of pooling financial resources to organize a second conference on youth and the internet was discussed. The Government of Quebec expressed its intention of hosting a second conference on this specific theme. Prepared in collaboration with UNESCO, the International Conference “Internet and the Radicalization of Youth: Preventing, Acting and Living Together” will take place in Quebec City (Canada) on 31 October and 1 November, 2016.
Radicalization and extremism leading to violence affect all societies today and it is in our interest to join forces to meet the challenges associated with their prevention and the promotion of lasting peace. These tasks require the pooling of expertise based on constructive dialogue and strong partnerships. UNESCO is, thus, committing to promote the meeting of experts and the discussion among various global stakeholders by organizing such an event that, itself born from an international collaboration, will serve as a forum for knowledge and practices sharing that help to address these challenges in a more consistent and concerted way, worldwide. This Conference, as a gathering point for an international community of scholars and members of civil society involved in the understanding of these phenomena and their prevention, will contribute to the consolidation of cooperation and the concentration of the many efforts already underway in this area.
