Engaging youth to counter terrorist radicalization topic of OSCE seminar in Kazakhstan

ASTANA, 30 April 2014 – An OSCE-supported a roundtable meeting on engaging youth to counter violent extremism and radicalization that lead to terrorism (VERLT) concluded today in Almaty.

The two-day event brought together some 60 participants, including experts from Denmark, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Switzerland, Tajikistan, the United Kingdom and the United States as well as representatives of state agencies and civil society of Kazakhstan. Participants shared national and international perspectives on youth engagement to counter VERLT through education, arts, sports and the media. Co-operation and co-ordination between law enforcement agencies in countering violent extremism were also among the topics discussed.

The seminar followed a student forum organized by Al-Farabi Kazakh National University during which students performed a short play and had a chance to hear international and national perspectives on countering VERLT among youth. The OSCE Centre facilitated the participation of an expert who spoke to the audience of some 200 pupils about the phenomenon of youth involvement in terrorist activities.

Drawing on the discussions at the seminar, the Prosecutor General’s Office Institute is preparing a list of recommendations on the next steps Kazakhstan can take to enhance its policy in these areas.

Saltanat Tursynbekova, Director of the Institute of the Prosecutor General’s Office, said: “Today we focus on the role of youth in this very important topic. Our hope is not only to help youth, but to engage them and help them address possible extremism among their peers."

The Political Officer at the OSCE Centre in Astana, Colin McCullough, said: “Violent extremism and radicalization threaten the security of individuals and pave the way for large-scale violence. Therefore it is very important to involve young and well-educated people in awareness-raising campaigns to combat these threats so that they understand that violent extremism and terrorism are not the solution to problems they face.”

The event is part of a series of national seminars organized by the OSCE in 2012-2014 on countering VERLT following a multi-dimensional approach aimed at upholding human rights and the rule of law and drawing on public-private partnerships.

The workshop was co-organized by the OSCE Transnational Threats Department, the Prosecutor General’s Office Institute and the OSCE Centre in Astana with support from the government of Norway.