Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates © Onnik James Krikorian 2014
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.
Practitioners and policymakers unanimously agree that Communications is a critical area in countering violent extremism (CVE). Many cite the internet and social media as being the central development that has enabled the spread of a global radicalizing narrative. This has been brought into sharp focus by recent events in Iraq and Syria: the messaging of terrorist groups is coordinated, cohesive, technologically advanced and shows strong awareness of the vulnerabilities of its target audience. Most worryingly, it appears to be effective and able to draw large numbers into the conflict. By contrast, the response, the ‘counter-narrative’, appears fragmented and ineffective. There is insufficient international co-ordination and insufficient time and resource devoted to it.
The United Arab Emirates, and Abu Dhabi in particular, is fast becoming a centre for such discourse.
Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates © Onnik James Krikorian 2014
And the issue is a very significant and timely one too. From branding Countering Violent Extremism (CVE) to developing and nurturing innovative communication strategies, the Expo sought to address that.
The Expo will identify, bring together, and cultivate a CVE communications community comprised of high-level government officials, mid-level government action officers, industry partners, technology specialists, academic experts, and civil society actors to collaborate in developing and implementing innovative CVE communications activity.
This event envisions to bring together 250+ stakeholders who will inject irrefutable creativity, entrepreneurship, and inspiring collaboration into this nascent community through a vibrant mixture of interactive networking events, practical exercises, CVE gameplay, technical workshops, and on-the-margins delegation meetings.
Hedayah / GCTF Communications Expo, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates © Onnik James Krikorian 2014
The failure to address this need has become increasingly evident in light of an unprecedented communications strategy from the Islamic State.
De-radicalization experts argue there is much more that Western governments could do in counteracting the appeal of jihadi propaganda by being more creative and challenging ideas head-on. In a recent report, the Quilliam think tank faulted Western authorities who seem to believe “their case is so obvious it does not need to be made.”
Nothing could be more off-base where young militants and jihadi aspirants are concerned. They hold certain truths to be self-evident, starting with rejection of the authority structures in the governments of the West and the governments that the West supports in the Muslim world. If they accepted the status quo, they would not be so fascinated by people from backgrounds much like theirs who are fighting the tyrant Bashar al-Assad and cutting off the heads of non-believers in Syria and Iraq. If the message of the West is essentially, “Let’s not do these bad things, let’s keep everything the way it is,” that’s not going to fly.
It’s also particularly poignant that the Expo was co-organised by Hedayah, an organisation receiving some significant good press of late.
Hedayah CEO Maqsoud Kruse, Hedayah / GCTF Communications Expo, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates © Onnik James Krikorian 2014
Hedayah’s Kruse was also recently interviewed by The New York Times.
“That suicide bomber can decide not to push the button, and our job is to understand how we can help him decide not to push the button, to make him or her aware, conscious and rational, rather than be swept along,” said Kruse. “It is all about how we equip and support our youth and prevent them from being someone who says, ‘I have the truth.’” We need them to have “the ability to deconstruct ideas and be immune and self-resilient” to extremism. It is all about, “how we get them to pause and think” — before they act.
Unfortunately, the Expo was conducted under the Chatham House rule so there’s very little I can report on what was said, but I can say that a number of speakers particularly impressed me.
Suleiman Bakhit, Hedayah / GCTF Communications Expo, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates © Onnik James Krikorian 2014
Suleiman Bakhit was particularly impressive. A great speaker as the video below from the Oslo Freedom Forum demonstrates, animation and comics are particularly proving themselves as a medium for reaching out to youth of all ages.
“From previous campaigns, I know that you can spend a long time simply building your audience before you can do anything with them,” she explains. “The fact that we reached so many so quickly shows the value in being razor sharp with your targeting and of having a great product. Finally, governments are speaking out on the need for counter-narratives, often quoting Abdullah-X as an example of what can be done.”
An analytical case study by YouTube made available to techPresident bears that out, concluding that the channel “offers a good example for other counter-narrative efforts.”
“Prior to the launch, Abdullah-X relied on grassroots activities to spread his message, speaking directly to young people at schools, conferences and events,” it reads. “The creator’s YouTube channel brought his message online with rich storytelling that spoke directly to the curiosities, concerns and questions of young people [finding] success with quick, interactive and fast paced content that made smart use of YouTube features such as call to actions via annotations that engage the audience.”
Michael Haines, Hedayah / GCTF Communications Expo, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates © Onnik James Krikorian 2014
But perhaps the most emotional speakers were Michael Haines, brother of aid worker David who was beheaded by the Islamic State in September, and Ashraf al Khaled. Sitting with both as well as the creator of Abdullah X during one coffee break was both humbling and inspiring.
As Rachel Briggs OBE said in my techPresident piece, “There are no more credible messengers than those who have been touched personally by violent extremism.”
I also held a workshop on the media and using new tools to deconstruct propaganda. It also touched upon new and existing mediums and formats such as multimedia, long form storytelling, infographics, crisis mapping, crowd funding, mobile apps, and social media that CVE practitioners can use themselves.
Nevertheless, just as I conduct conflict-sensitive journalism workshops in the South Caucasus, there’s the need for something similar for journalists covering terrorism and countering violent extremism. Some do appear to be doing this, but despite the similarity, more seems to being done in traditional conflict zones.
