GCTF Initiative on Education for the Prevention and Countering of Violent Extremism Conducive to Terrorism

The Abu Dhabi Memorandum for Good Practices on Education and Countering Violent Extremism, endorsed in September 2014 at the Fifth GCTF Ministerial Meeting sets out an array of non-binding good practices on how education can be used as an effective way by policymakers , teachers and educators, community-based and other non-governmental organizations (NGOs), and families and parents to prevent and counter violent extremism (P/CVE) conducive to terrorism.  As a follow up, the Abu Dhabi Plan of Action for Education and Countering Violent Extremism (the Action Plan) provides an illustrative list of non-binding recommendations for the practical use of the good practices outlined in the Abu Dhabi Memorandum.

Co-led by the European Union and Morocco, this Initiative intends to update existing good practices with advancements in the P/CVE and Education space, and provide practical steps for the concrete use of the Abu Dhabi Memorandum and Action Plan. The specific objectives of this Initiative are to:

  1. Document and explore lessons learned and successes based on or relevant to the use of the good practices set out in the Memorandum;
  2. Propose practical solutions to assist educators in building learners' resilience to violent extremism and facilitating rehabilitation and reintegration processes, as well as mitigate the drivers of the phenomena, through tailored Training of Trainers (ToT) programs devised and delivered by Hedayah;
  3. Develop and recommend non-binding and high-level indicators to support efforts to monitor and evaluate programming or policies in line with or responding to the Memorandum.

The Initiative will seek to integrate cross-cutting themes relevant to education and P/CVE that can support strong implementation and effective outcomes, such as:

  • Mainstreaming gender inclusive education, particularly of children and youth, to develop gendered approach by focusing on the role of women, boys and girls in promoting positive thinking and behaviors to P/CVE;
  • Ensuring a bottom-up approach which involves promoting an inclusive dialogue between local and community-based actors, educators, and students.