By Shannon, ExitUSA Program Supervisor
Recently, Life After Hate staff members had the opportunity to attend and present at The Canada Centre 2024 Conference on Countering Radicalization to Violence. With more than 400 participants from 15 countries in attendance, the conference supports the development of partnerships and practical solutions for violence prevention.
Session topics ranged from local impacts of the Israel/Hamas conflict–both online and offline–to community perspectives of social polarization from both urban and rural perspectives. Other sessions focused on expanding and integrating the understanding of the role of gender in extremism prevention.
Life After Hate staff presented in a panel titled “Good Practices in Peer Mentorship for Preventing and Countering Violent Extremism.” The session discussed competencies for Exit Specialists: identity/relatability, cultural competency, and lived experience and how those competencies contribute to successful outcomes in psycho-social intervention programs. The panelists examined how these elements can be integrated into practice frameworks and intervention teams and identified key skill sets and training areas for Exit Specialists. Attention was also given to how they work within the multidisciplinary framework.
Overall, it was a great experience for networking and discussing forward steps within the CVE work. This conference not only provided a platform for sharing knowledge and best practices but also reinforced the critical importance of global collaboration in countering violent extremism.
