Google Ideas is supporting a new initiative that tackles the problem of violent extremism with the use of technology.
The Against Violent Extremism (AVE) Network went live yesterday, and is managed by the Institute for Strategic Dialogue, with the support of Google's think/do tank Google Ideas and the Gen Next Foundation.
The concept was originally seeded by Google Ideas in 2011, at the Summit Against Violent Extremism, in Dublin. The network aims to leverage the lessons, experiences and networks of individuals who have dealt first-hand with extremism.
“Through the Web site and YouTube channel, members can stay in touch, share ideas, collaborate, find investment and partners, and project their messages to wider audiences,” says AVE.
Director of Google Ideas, Jared Cohen, posted an official statement on the Google blog, saying: “This is the first time that former extremists, survivors, non-profits and private sector leaders from around the world are combining forces and using online tools to tackle the problem of violent extremism.”
Cohen says the aim is to initiate a global conversation on how best to prevent youth from becoming radicalised. Unlike Facebook and Twitter, not everyone can join the AVE Network, and there is a strict screening process in order to protect its members.
“In some ways, it was a bit of an experiment to see if we could get so-called 'formers' - those who had renounced their previous lives of violent extremism - and survivors of such violence to come together in one place.”
According to Cohen, the formers are being spotlighted as positive role models for the youth in an attempt to move away from the over-reliance on governments to tackle these issues. “We needed to go beyond the in-person, physical conversations we had at the summit into the realm of the virtual, using the Internet to ensure sustained discussion and debate.”
The site is currently in beta, and functions as a place for members to connect with each other across sectors and disciplines, and to get access to expertise and resources. The site also contains forums, tools for taking action and information on projects spawned by the network.
Cohen says Google Ideas will convene the Illicit Networks: Forces in Opposition Summit later this year to interrogate ideas around how technology can disrupt some of the world's most dangerous illicit networks.
“We want to look not only at how technology has been part of the problem, but how it can be part of the solution by empowering those who are adversely affected by illicit networks,” says Cohen.
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