For Immediate Release, March 29, 2013
Contact: David Early, 202-429-7817

(Washington) - The U.S. Institute of Peace (USIP), in partnership with the U.S. State Department and the Department of Homeland Security, hosted two international workshops on March 19-22, 2013, to identify priorities, strategies, and good practices for community engagement and community policing as tools to counter violent extremism.

The workshops were conducted under the auspices of the Countering Violent Extremism Working Group – one of five working groups of the Global Counterterrorism Forum (GCTF). 

The community engagement workshop, which met the first three days, gathered more than 125 participants from 24 countries, the European Union, the U.N., and 22 nongovernmental organizations.  Speakers addressed key strategies, best practices, and lessons learned from the field in how to counter or prevent violent extremism with effective community engagement practices. The community policing event, which took place on March 22, assembled 60 practitioners from 16 countries, the U.N., and five NGOs.  The workshops collectively yielded good practices, which will be developed into a GCTF guide for practitioners.

The GCTF was launched in 2011 as an informal, multilateral counterterrorism platform that focuses on identifying critical civilian counterterrorism needs, mobilizing the necessary expertise and resources to address such needs and enhance global cooperation.

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