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By Ibrahim Taha, University of Sydney, Y20, 2021
Ibrahim Taha is a Global Voices National Scholar. His policy paper focuses on Countering Youth Radicalisation.
Executive Summary
Despite the increasing efforts by the Australian Government to counter violent extremism, youth engagement, a central pillar to countering extremism, is often poorly practiced and implemented. The United Nations Security Council has emphasised the need for measures to address violent extremism from a youth perspective (Resolution 68/127, 2015). Young people constitute the highest percentage of individuals joining violent extremist groups (AVERT Research Network, 2021). Therefore, for any policy to effectively counter violent extremism, youth are an invaluable partner. The purpose of this discussion paper is to recommend youth engagement strategies in the government’s countering violent extremism (CVE) policy framework by (1) incorporating youth perspectives in community-based CVE programs and (2) improving digital literacy among young people.
The aim of the recommendations is to ensure better policy outcomes in countering violent extremism, by including young people in the policy-making process and training them to counter extremist narratives online. Countering violent extremism is an issue of alienation. Therefore the recommendations in this paper correspond to the broader aims of government in strengthening civil society and fostering social cohesion, to combat the negative forces in society that make young people susceptible to extremist narratives.