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WNCAC MeetingsPositive Alternatives to Youth Radicalization in the Middle East Friday, June 19th 1601 Connecticut Ave NW Summary
Taking a cue from the recent focus on the complex issues facing the Middle East, and from Obama’s speech in Cairo on June 4th when he acknowledged the need to fight radical groups in the region, the June meeting of the Washington Network on Children and Armed Conflict aimed to explore different theoretical frameworks related to youth radicalization and to highlight particularly the USIP project in Pakistan as one way to counteract this radicalization through peacemaking education in local madrassas. The discussion was framed by Dr. Peter Mandaville, Director of the George Mason Global Policy Center, and Dr. Qamar-ul Huda, of the US Institute of Peace. The two men drew from their experiences in Pakistan, Indonesia, Saudi Arabia, and the U.K. to provide examples of different theories and methods that have been applied to the goal of combating youth radicalization in the Middle East. DR. PETER MANDAVILLE, Associate Professor of Government & Islamic Studies and Founding Director of the Center for Global Studies at George Mason University. Past teaching and professional affiliations have included the University of Kent at Canterbury in the UK, American University, and the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington DC. He is the author of two books-most recently, Global Political Islam (2007); also Transnational Muslim Politics: Reimagining the Umma (2001)-and editor or coeditor of four others. He has testified on political Islam before Congress and consulted widely for the media and various government agencies. Dr. QAMAR-UL HUDA, the scholar of Islam and Senior Program Officer in the Religion and Peacemaking Program at the U.S. Institute of Peace. Dr. Huda is an Adjunct Associate Professor at Georgetown University's Conflict Resolution Program; he taught Islamic Studies and Comparative Religion at Boston College, College of the Holy Cross and Brandeis University. Dr. Huda's area of interest is Islamic theology, intellectual history, ethics, comparative ethics, the language of violence, conflict resolution and non-violence in contemporary Islam. His forthcoming book, The Crescent and Dove: Contemporary Muslim Thought on Peace and Conflict (USIP Press, 2009), provides a critical analysis of models of nonviolent strategies, peace building efforts, conflict resolution methods in Muslim communities. Stay tuned for the next WNCAC event. Email to wncac@sfcg.org to register for our bi-monthly E-newlsetter. Announcement & Resources
CYES Livelihood InitiativeTaking a cue from the February WNCAC meeting on youth unemployment in crisis-affected areas, the Children, Youth and Economic Strengthening Network has announced a new livelihood initiative that invites researchers and practitioners to participate in developing an open paper on economic strengthening approaches for youth in conflict. To contribute to this innovate initiative, visit http://www.cyesnetwork.org/openpaper/blog/post01 DDR BibliographyThe Coalition to Stop the Use of Childhood Soldiers has recently announced the release of an interactive bibliography of literature related to demilitarization, demobilization, and reintegration. The citations and abstracts are divided into categories: DDR, gender, international law and juvenile justice, and recruitment use child soldiers. Arabic-Language Blogosphere ReportOn June 17th USIP hosted an event titled 'Online Discourse in the Arab World: Dispelling the Myths,” to discuss findings of a project, which mapped the Arabic-language blogosphere analyzing over 35,000 blogs from 18 countries. The event moderated by Sheldon Himmelfarb of USIP hosted both academicians and Arabic language bloggers. More than 150 participants from 26 countries participated through online chat and Twitter. To see a video of the event click here Cease FireThis Chicago-based organization relies on a public health approach to reducing gun violence using highly trained street violence interrupters and outreach staff along with public education campaigns and community mobilization. About WNCAC
The Washington Network on Children in Armed Conflict, convened by Search for Common Ground and the Displaced Children and Orphans Fund of USAID, is an interdisciplinary and open community of practitioners and scholars, which shares information on the myriad issues affecting children in conflict. The group seeks to connect diverse actors from different sectors to promote information exchange on programming and policy issues, developments in the field, resources, and good practices. The Network has been meeting bi-monthly since July 2004. Notes from Previous Meetings
Felix Unogwu Children and Youth Specialist Search for Common Ground (Washington DC) 1601 Connecticut Ave. NW, #200 Washington, DC 20009-1035 Phone: +1 (202) 265-4300 Fax: +1 (202) 232-6718 E-mail: funogwu@sfcg.org |
