Violent Extremism

Thursday February 18th 2010, Guoman Charing Cross, London, 09:15 - 16:00

Preventing Violent Extremism and Building Cohesive Societies

"At the current time, the greatest terrorist threat remains that from Al-Qaeda linked violent extremism. The Prevent programme is key to our long-term success in tackling this threat.”

John Denham, Communities Secretary, August 2009

Overview

The overwhelming majority of people in Britain feel positive about living side by side with people from different backgrounds. However, there are still some new and complex challenges that require national and local action to ensure that society is inclusive and any extremism and potential community tensions are tackled.

In June 2008, the government published Preventing Violent Extremism: A Strategy for Delivery alongside The Prevent Strategy: A Guide for Local Partners in England which stressed the key and integral role local communities play in preventing violent extremism. The Preventing Violent Extremism Pathfinder Fund (PVEPF) was launched in October 2006 to support priority local authorities in developing programmes of activity to tackle violent extremism at a local level. This fund made £6m available to 70 priority local authorities to build on their existing work to engage with communities, forge partnerships with police, community and faith groups and work with mosques and institutions of education.

The Government has continued to invest in the Prevent agenda, with a further £7.5m funding boost this summer. The extra funding backs new cross-government guidance which reflects feedback from local authorities and from Muslim communities.

As the Prevent programme grows in strength and support, the Communities and Local Government Committee has undertaken an inquiry into Prevent. The Committee will be considering the effectiveness of the Prevent programme to date, and its likely effectiveness in the future.

To tackle violent extremism in the long term it is important that central government and local authorities work together to create cohesive communities. Violent extremism can emerge from even the most cohesive communities, but extremist messages are less likely to find support in this environment. Likewise, a community in which extremism is minimised is likely to be one where people have more confidence to build relationships with one another and so increase community cohesion.

Agenda

09:15	Coffee and Registration
10:00	Opening Remarks by Chair Ewan King, Director, The Office for Public Management (OPM) (CONFIRMED)
10:05	Preventing Violent Extremism: A Community Based Approach Strengthening the role of faith institutions and faith leaders Building better connections with local places and fostering civic capacity and leadership Nurturing community leadership and deepening local engagement Future role of pathfinders Masood Ahmed, Senior Policy Advisor, Communities and Local Government (CONFIRMED)
10:25	Delivering Prevent: A Path to Radicalisation Leadership training Empowering the community to be at the forefront of counteracting extremist ideologies among young Muslims Role and contribution of women in addressing specific social issues in the Muslim community Asim Hafeez, Head of the Prevent Interventions Unit, Home Office (CONFIRMED)
10:45	Questions and Answers Session
11:05	Coffee and Networking
11:25	Implementing a Successful Police Approach to Prevent Encouraging and facilitating strong relations between police and local authorities Intelligence and data sharing – sharing counter terrorism and community information Identifying vulnerabilities and risks Implementing PREVENT programmes Channel Project Operation Nicole / Act NOW Detective Chief Inspector Richard Timson and Detective Sergeant Matt Gudgin, Prevent Delivery, ACPO (CONFIRMED)
11:45	Working with the Community to Tackle Violent Extremism Promoting greater understanding and confidence between the diverse grassroots Muslim communities and the wider society Communicating Government messages to young people Empowering leaders of tomorrow Islam and the media Huda Jawad, Programme Manager, The Nyon Process, Forward Thinking (CONFIRMED)
12:05	What Works in Preventing Violent Extremism: Effective & Hard Edge Interventions Understanding violent extremism / terrorism Identifying individuals Highlighting abuse Applying interventions S.A.N.C.T.I.O.N.S Successes Hanif Qadir, Projects and Programme Director, Active Change Foundation (CONFIRMED)
12:25	Engaging and Working with Young Muslims in the Communities Concerns and factors affecting British Muslim youth Increasing civic participation in the Muslim community Best practice Hugo MacPherson, Project Co-ordinator, MPower Youth Project for PVE (CONFIRMED)
12:45	Questions and Answers Session
13:00	Lunch and Networking
14:00	Building Cohesion to Tackle Extremism Building Cohesion to tackle extremism in the long-term How to increase cohesion in the communities – practical solution Minimising intolerance through community engagement Using communications to promote cohesion Examples of best practice Daljit Kaur, Director of Service Development, Institute of Community Cohesion (CONFIRMED)
14:20	Empowering Muslim Communities in Watford Promoting understanding and acceptance of shared values and encouraging dialogue and engagement between communities The role of elected members in building good relation with Muslim leaders Lessons learnt Next steps Cate Hall, Executive Director of Services, Watford Borough Council (CONFIRMED) Fawziyyah Qureshi, Councillor, Watford Borough Council (CONFIRMED) Shameem Khan, Councillor, Watford Borough Council (CONFIRMED)
14:40	Coffee and Networking
15:00	Using Education to Increase Resilience in Muslim Families Leadership training for Muslim women Empowering Muslim women to be at the forefront of counteracting extremist ideologies among young Muslims Role and contribution of women in addressing specific social issues in the Muslim community Geraint Evans, Senior Inclusion Development Officer (Diversity and Communities), London Borough of Newham (CONFIRMED)
15:20	Civil Society and Muslim Political Participation in Britain Increasing political engagement Fostering better community relations and work for the good of society as a whole Supporting more Muslim groups to move into public roles, removing the barriers Volunteer and being active in their communities N.S. Mueen, Chair, Public Affairs Committee, Muslim Council of Britain (CONFIRMED)
15:40	Questions and Answers Session
16:00	Close

*programme subject to change without notice

Audience

The audience will be representative of the diversity of the issue and the stakeholders present will include, community safety teams, police & fire authorities, LSPs, housing organisations, CDRPs, jobcentre plus, drug and alcohol action teams, youth offending teams, town centre managers, transport authorities, neighbourhood wardens, victims support, children’s trusts, ALOs, education authorities, licensing teams, environmental professionals, planning authorities, social inclusion officers, community cohesion officers, schools, local criminal justice boards, prison/probation service, PCTs, central government departments & bodies, unions, academia, the private, legal & voluntary sectors and all those involved in tackling violent extremism.