Events organised and run by the Strong Cities Network
Above: Teams develop their campaigns at our Youth Innovation Labs, like this one in Mombasa, with guidance provided by the Young Cities team. It started with a simple invitation – a request for applications from youth interested in attending an innovation lab and solving a key local challenge. We shortlisted the brightest ideas and invited…
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One of the most significant challenges in preventing and countering violent extremism (P/CVE) is the sharing of information, resources, expertise and strategies. The lack of proper channels of communication, shared goals and informal spaces to discuss exchanges of ideas can breed mistrust and isolationism.
To encourage the breaking down of these barriers, the Strong Cities Network (SCN) has conducted a series of city exchanges between its members. In this article, Local Prevention Coordinator Veton Latifi outlines their purpose and describes the latest (and first) city exchange to take place in the Western Balkans.
Continuing on from our previous article on the importance of engaging and involving youth in municipal decision-making, as well as the mission of the SCN’s Young Cities programme, we are pleased to provide an update on the projects and work that youth are undertaking in Kenya, Lebanon and Senegal. We hope this can provide inspiration for our members for ideas on how cities can work with and empower youth, the range of issues that can be addressed, as well as the benefits of collaboration.
In 2017, the SCN launched an innovative and radical experiment in the Middle East – to bring local community actors together to drive efforts to help prevent violent extremism. This novel approach proved enormously successful, with six Local Prevention Networks (LPNs) launched across Lebanon and Jordan.
Today, we are proud to announce that this model is being expanded to the Western Balkans in the North Macedonian city of Kumanovo.
This is a last call for proposals. The SCN is seeking to fund a minimum of five local civil society or grassroots organisations between $8,000 and $10,000 USD to carry out projects which support the implementation of the County Action Plans in SCN member or engaged counties (Isiolo, Kwale, Lamu, Mombasa and Nakuru).
Above: youth from Dakar, Senegal, participate in an Innovation Lab as part of Young Cities’ programme of work ‘Young people are the future’. While this is a truism, the reality of a growing youth population for cities makes the prospect a daunting one. In some cases, youth population growth is outstripping the country’s ability to…
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Above: the media campaign ‘Stray Bullets’ designed by Tripoli youth through SCN’s Young Cities programme is discussed on Lebanese national television Around the world, celebratory gunfire is a serious threat to life, with some bullets potentially reaching terminal velocity of 300 feet (91m) per second as they fall. Efforts by law enforcement to ban gunfire…
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Building trust between youth and local government can be a daunting task. The more local governments can create opportunities to support, partner and work with youth on the local issues that matter most to them, the better.
In part as a response to major terrorist attacks, including at the Westgate Mall and Garissa University, Kenya has committed considerable resources to P/CVE. In the 2016 National Strategy to Combat Violent Extremism, the Kenyan Government mandated counties to develop County Action Plans (CAPs) to support national CVE efforts at the local level. From 26…
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Above: the Lebanese focal points with Prevent officers in Leicester On 24 and 25 June, the Strong Cities Network (SCN) organised a study trip for its municipal focal points from Lebanon with the support of the Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Our focal points from the cities of Saida, Tripoli and Majdal Anjar travelled to…
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