General news about the Strong Cities Network, including updates to our members, website news, events and more.
With £400,000 from City Hall generously match-funded by Google.org, the new fund is part of Mayor Khan’s £1 million investment to support London’s first ever Countering Violent Extremism programme, which launched in December 2017. Grassroots organisations from across London will have the opportunity to bid for grants up to £50,000, providing them with the vital…
Read more »
Building cooperation between national and local authorities to prevent and counter violent extremism (P/CVE) is imperative. If we get it right, it improves information sharing, ensures a fair distribution of responsibilities, while creating synergies in efforts to reduce duplication.
The reality is often very different however. In this article, we map out the reasons for this divide, why it is imperative that we bridge it, and outline some basic steps towards improving national-local cooperation.
Above: Alpha Cheng After the traumatic experience of losing his father to a violent extremist attack four years ago, Alpha Cheng decided to advocate for social cohesion, resilience and inclusivity. Reflecting on his path since that life changing moment and his future goals, he shares his thoughts on the current state of preventing and countering…
Read more »
Above: Participants at Venice City Solutions In our last newsletter, the Head of the Strong Cities Network (SCN) wrote about the similarities between the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the Preventing Violent Extremism (PVE) agendas following the United Nations (UN) General Assembly. This month, the SCN joined mayors, local and regional government officials, and civil…
Read more »
During this year’s UN General Assembly, a huge focus was placed on the Sustainable Development Goals adopted in 2016 with the convening of the SDG Summit to review the roadmap to 2030. In our main article, Head of Strong Cities Network, Rebecca Skellett, asks whether SDGs and PVE are working towards the same goal?
Right-wing extremist groups and ideologies are rising across the global north. Climbing hate crime statistics highlight the increased violence and harassment which minority communities are under, whilst recent terror attacks in New Zealand, the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom throw this threat into the fore. However, the question remains, how should local authorities…
Read more »
SCN Coordinator Marta Lopes speaking at the PRoTECT Seminar in Brasov, Romania Author: Marta Lopes Coordinator, SCN The SCN has launched a new project to develop a “Post-Incident Response Toolkit” which will provide key guidance and insight to both city leaders and practitioners on best practice responses following a terrorist attack or suspected terrorist attack….
Read more »
Above: Head of SCN, Rebecca Skellett, spoke at length on the importance of local leadership. As part of our partnership with the UN Counter Terrorism Executive Directorate (UN-CTED), the Head of the Strong Cities Network, Rebecca Skellett had the opportunity to present at the open briefing on the protection of ‘soft’ targets through local engagement…
Read more »
In December 2017, the Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, and SCN member, introduced a City Hall-wide Countering Violent Extremism (CVE) Programme to run throughout 2018. The programme appointed six specialist advisers to provide independent expertise and feedback, among which was the Institute for Strategic Dialogue’s own CEO Sasha Havlicek. Having undergone a stringent, ground-up review…
Read more »
A U.S. delegation from Anaheim and San Diego visited the site of a 2004 terrorist attack in Cologne, which targeted the city’s Turkish community. (State Department photo) SCN Members from Southern California pair with counterparts from North Rhine-Westphalia to explore ways to counter terrorist radicalization and recruitment through the U.S. Department of State’s City Pair…
Read more »
