UNOCT Global Youth Town Hall: “Together, Building A Future Without Terrorism”

The United Nations Office of Counter-Terrorism (UNOCT), through its Doha-based International Hub on Behavioural Insights to Counter Terrorism, convened a Global Youth Town Hall on the theme “Together, Building A Future Without Terrorism” on Tuesday at the Hamad Bin Khalifa University (HBKU) in Doha, State of Qatar.

The event created an opportunity for young people from around the world to better understand the United Nations and Member States’ efforts and future vision towards countering terrorism and preventing violent extremism conducive to terrorism (CT/PVE). It also provided a platform for participants to interact with a social scientist, a PVE practitioner and youth leaders in the field of CT/PVE, and to enhance their awareness of individual, contextual and structural factors affecting violent extremist action through a behavioural insights lens.

The hybrid event was attended by student representatives from the Hamad Bin Khalifa University, Georgetown University (Qatar campus) and Northwestern University (Qatar campus).  Virtual participants also attended the event online.

“Every day, we see young women and men demonstrate their resolve to live on a peaceful planet with the courage to stand up against intolerance, hate, and terrorism.” sharing his vision towards a future without terrorism, Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations Office of Counter-Terrorism, Mr. Vladimir Voronkov, noted in his opening remarks that “Our goal for this townhall is to learn from each other by sharing our experiences and perspectives and to consider some of the ways that youth can help us work towards our goal of a future without terrorism.”

Other speakers included Dr. Leslie A. Pal, Founding Dean of the College of Public Policy, the Hamad Bin Khalifa University; H.E. Dr. Majed Al-Ansari, the Advisor to the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs and Spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and H.E. Ambassador Agustín Santos Maraver, Permanent Representative of the Kingdom of Spain to the United Nations in New York. 

H.E. Dr. Majed Al-Ansari, the Advisor to the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs and Spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, points out in his opening remarks that “Our collective goal is a future without terrorism. Youth are the fuel for that future. This is in line with the top priority of the government of the State of Qatar assigns to empowering and supporting the participation and advancement of youth. Youth are the agents to achieve stability, prosperity, and sustainable development, as well as in the prevention of radicalization conducted violent extremism and terrorism.”

“Civil society has now become a central element in Spain's [counter-terrorism] strategy that we try to put forward.” Highlighting the importance of civil society in efforts to counter terrorism and prevent violent extremism in his special remarks, Ambassador Agustín Santos Maraver, Permanent Representative of the Kingdom of Spain to the United Nations in New York, reminded that  “Please take this into account every single time we talk about terrorism.  Think that what terrorists are trying to do is to break all elements of social cohesion, which basically come from civil society, and to put back civil society into the consensus is one of the central elements to fight terrorism.”

In interactive segments, Director and Deputy to the Under-Secretary-General of UNOCT  (DUSG), Dr. Raffi Gregorian, responded to question on the issue of gender in the CT & PVE landscape, discussed what the UN can do to address the issue of the radicalisation of young people, and explored the use of video gaming in the work of PCVE programmes.  Dr. Gregorian also invited youth participants to share their views on priorities for building a future without terrorism.

In a “Food for Thought” segment, social scientist & Vice President of the Busara Center (Nairobi), Dr. Mareike Schomerus, outlined how neuroscience, psychology, and our understanding of misinformation, disinformation and mental health can help build better policies for preventing and countering violent extremism and terrorism. Youth leader and alumni of the UNOCT/UNCCT Youth Engagement Empowerment Programme (YEEP), Ms. Afra Cader, took the stage to discuss the importance of youth engagement and empowerment; and PVE practitioner & Founder of Media Cultured, Mr. Amjid Khazir, shared his personal journey that led him to dedicating his life to challenging all forms of hate and extremism. 

After the event, Dr. Leslie A. Pal, Founding Dean of the College of Public Policy, the Hamad Bin Khalifa University, said that: “I am delighted that HBKU could host the Global Youth Town Hall and be part of UNOCT’s international cooperation effort to give youth a visible platform to advocate for positive change. Given the complexity of the challenge, education must play a positive role in addressing the social, economic, cultural, and other factors that create the conditions for extremism. It’s also clear that innovation and critical thinking among youth are vital, and events such as this Global Youth Town Hall encourage the capacities that countries need.”