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Tajikistan and Foreign Terrorist Fighters
In February I was invited to moderate one of two working groups at a Regional Co-operation and Effective Responses to the Phenomenon of Foreign Terrorist Fighters workshop organised by the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) in Tajikistan alongside the UN Counter-Terrorism Committee Executive Directorate (UNCTED) and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC). The meeting was financially supported by the British Embassy in Tajikistan and involved Ambassadors, Counter-Terrorism Officials, Civil Society representatives and others.
Three Cartoons by Muslims that take on Radicalisation and Violent Extremism
The 7 January attack on the offices of Charlie Hebdo, a controversial Paris satirical publication that has always had its detractors, including at times the French and U.S. governments, was both shocking and callous. Twelve people were initially killed in the carnage perpetrated by Islamic extremists while an increasingly polarised discourse in its aftermath runs the risk of provoking more as latent, inherent Islamophobia surfaces in Europe.
Joseph Stalin, Ethnographic Museum, Georgia
Despite having visited Georgia since 1999 I never did the tourist thing until my Mum visited from England in 2012. The next time was in September this year when two old friends from the UK came. Unfortunately, Jon and June didn’t have enough time to travel to Svaneti and Tusheti so they were limited to Tbilisi and nearby, but nonetheless enjoyed themselves.
Hedayah/GCTF Countering Violent Extremism (CVE) Communications Expo and Hackathon
Security was higher than at most Hedayah and Global Counterterrorism Forum (GCTF) events I’ve attended, but perhaps with good reason. Following the murder of an American teacher at an Abu Dhabi shopping mall (as well as a foiled plot to kill another), it was understandable that metal detectors were installed on two levels at the Hilton Capital Grand where last week’s Countering Violent Extremism (CVE) Communications Expo was held.
No To Annexation Rally, Tbilisi, Georgia
A bit late, but some photographs from last month’s protest demonstration organised by Mikheil Saakashvili’s United National Movement in Tbilisi, Georgia. As usual, Democracy & Freedom Watch filed a report.
Tbilisoba 2014
Although I missed much of Tbilisoba when it was held last year, I finally managed to visit it on both days this time round. Despite the weather on the second day, I enjoyed it and even managed to record a little sound.
Free Thought Azerbaijani Tea House, Tbilisi, Georgia
The BBC’s Azerbaijan Service has just published my video report on the Free Thought Tea House in Tbilisi, Georgia. The piece is in Azerbaijani, but below is a brief description in English. I’ve covered Tbilisi’s tea houses serving as a meeting space for the whole region, before but this new venture takes things to whole other level.
Developing an Effective Counter-Narrative Framework for Countering Violent Extremism
After being contacted by the US Government’s Center for Strategic Counterterrorism Communications (CSCC) and the Global Counter-Terrorism Forum (GCTF) to present on my work using social media to cross divides in conflict zones at an intergovernmental seminar recently in Abu Dhabi, it was a pleasure to return to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in June, this time to take part in a small expert working group convened by the International Center for Counter-Terrorism (ICCT-The Hague) and the Hedayah Center to discuss elaborating and implementing effective frameworks for countering violent extremist narratives.
Yezidis In Tbilisi Demonstrate Against ISIS
Now I’ve finished some outstanding work I can finally post some of the material I’ve shot over the past a month and a half. First up, Yezidis in Georgia protesting the latest onslaught and wave of atrocities in Iraq by the Islamic State in two separate demonstrations held in Tbilisi in the first and second week of August.