Morocco and the European Union (EU) co-chaired, on November 23, a virtual conference to launch the Global Counter-Terrorism Forum (GCTF) initiative on “Education for the Prevention and Countering of Violent Extremism Conducive to Terrorism (PCVE)”.
According to a press release by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, African Cooperation, and Moroccan Expatriates, this initiative, launched in partnership with the International Center of Excellence for Countering Violent Extremism, “Hedayah”, in collaboration with the GCTF Working Group on Countering Violent Extremism, aims to identify emerging challenges, successes, and best approaches to prevent and counter violent extremism through education.
The initiative also aims to draw up concrete solutions and practical recommendations for decision-makers, education professionals, and civil society actors.
The Ministry added that the practices applied in Africa, including in the Sahel region, the new global epicenter of terrorism, will be examined to draw applicable lessons to the prevention and fight against extremism conducive to terrorism.
The same source noted that the implementation of this initiative is in line with efforts to put into practice the framework documents and best practices developed by the GCTF, particularly the “Abu Dhabi Memorandum on Best Practices for Education and Countering Violent Extremism”.
The Ministry stated that as part of this two-year initiative (2023-2025), a customized Training of Trainers (ToT) program will be developed and delivered for educators to build learners’ resilience to violent extremism, pointing out that a toolkit and a series of indicators will also be developed and implemented to assist and support governments’ efforts to monitor and evaluate programs and policies to prevent and combat violent extremism in education.
At the initiative’s official launch in May 2023 by the Minister of Foreign Affairs, African Cooperation, and Moroccan Expatriates, Nasser Bourita, and the European Union (EU) High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Josep Borrell, the two parties emphasized the role of education as a powerful tool for preventing and countering radicalism and violent extremism and eradicating extremist ideologies that breed in precarious environments.
The two parties also pointed out that this initiative bears witness to the privileged partnership between Morocco and the European Union (EU), and their shared commitment to promoting peace, security, and development.