P2P: Peer-to-Peer Education to Counter Violent Extremism

Overview

The multi-regional International Visitor Leadership Program (IVLP) "P2P: Peer-to-Peer Education to Counter Violent Extremism" brought together 18 students and faculty members from universities in Belgium, Italy, and Lebanon to explore tactical solutions to encounter the social media presence of extremists, examine effective solutions to extremist messaging and recruitment, and analyze strategies to counter violent extremism in schools and on college campuses. Prior to the IVLP, the participants took part in the final stage of the Facebook sponsored "Peer to Peer Facebook Global Digital Challenge" competition organized at 1776, which was held in a public-private partnership with the Department of State, Department of Homeland Security, and EdVenture Partners. There they presented their social media campaigns that targeted university students in an effort to counter violent extremist propaganda. The team from Lebanon won first prize with the team from Belgium winning second and the Italians winning third.

After the competition concluded, the group began their IVLP at Meridian with a welcome by the programming team and officials from the State Department. The participants later met with individuals from the State Department who are engaged in countering violent extremism and representatives from organizations including Heritage Foundation, Catholic Charities, and Muflehun. One of the highlights in Washington involved a guided tour and panel discussion at the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum and a face-to-face discussion with internally displaced persons in Erbil, Iraq via The Portal.

Following their program in Washington, the group moved on to New York, NY where they visited the 9/11 Museum and met with individuals from New York University’s P2P program, the NYPD Counterterrorism Bureau, the Counter Extremism Project, the Women’s Islamic Initiative in Spirituality and Equality (WISE) and the UN Global Center on Cooperative Security. The participants ended their IVLP in San Francisco, CA where they visited Facebook's campus and met with HipHopforChange and the Islamic Networks Group.

Project Team

Sponsor