“Strategies for Designing and Implementing Local Efforts to Prevent Violent Extremism and Promote Freedom of Religion or Belief (FoRB)”

 

CONCEPT NOTE

 

Background

 

Mensen met een Missie (MM) is a Netherlands-based organization for international cooperation committed to changing beliefs that lead to discrimination, exclusion, and violence across the globe. Joint Initiative for Strategic Religious Action (JISRA) is an initiative implemented by the MM focusing on advancing the Right to Freedom of Religion or Belief (FoRB) programming that operates in Ethiopia, Indonesia, Iraq, Kenya, Mali, Nigeria, and Uganda. At the heart of the programme is the encouragement of interfaith cooperation and peacebuilding. Through its FoRB programming, MM stimulates positive forces within and between religious communities for more peaceful and inclusive societies. Women, young people, and religious leaders play an important role as catalysts of change. With local partner organizations, MM addresses harmful norms and narratives within religious communities, stimulates cooperation between religions, and shows that different religious traditions can come together for a common vision for positive change.

 

Preventing and Countering Violent Extremism (PCVE) is a key area of interest among many JISRA-implementing countries where different forms of violent extremism threaten communities. Addressing violent extremism emanates as a key concern in societies that aspire for social cohesion and peacebuilding. Some countries have designed their national strategies to prevent and counter violent extremism, while others are in the process of designing and implementing national strategies. Few countries, such as Kenya and Indonesia, have embarked on localizing these national strategies on PCVE to county or provincial levels to prevent and counter violent extremism. Based on the history of localization of national and county actions on PCVE, Kenya and Indonesia provide a rich insight into how local mechanisms can be harnessed to prevent violent extremism.

 

The Peer-to-Peer Learning Initiative is a collaboration of the Government of the Netherlands, Kenya, and Indonesia. The respective ministries and departments involved include the following: National Counter Terrorism Agency of the Republic of Indonesia (BNPT) and National Counter Terrorism Centre (NCTC) of Kenya.

 

This initiative is implemented by the JISRA programme of the Mensen Met een Missie with its partners in Kenya (JISRA Kenya) and Indonesia (JISRA Indonesia). JISRA Kenya is a collaboration of 7 Civil Society Organisations (CSOs), namely: Kenya Community Support Center (KECOSCE), Chemchemi Ya Ukweli (CYU), Coast Interfaith Council of Clerics (CICC), Inter-Religious Council of Kenya (IRCK), Kenya Muslim Youth Alliance (KMYA), Muslims for Human Rights (MUHURI), Supreme Council of Kenya Muslims (SUPKEM), and their Consortium Partners led by Mensen met een Missie, Search for Common Ground and Faith to Action Network.

 

Kenya Community Support Centre (KECOSCE), www.kecosce.org will be the Kenyan lead of this initiative in collaboration with the other partners. KECOSCE is a civil society organization that has been active in localization of PCVE action plans in Kenya since 2016. KECOSCE has led in the formulation and development of several Local Action Plans and a key stakeholder in most County Engagement Forums in the Coast of Kenya. KECOSCE runs a regional CVE early warning and early response hub that has been instrumental in supporting monitoring changing contexts and factors for prevention interventions. KECOSCE will be the lead organization in this peer-to-peer exchange in Kenya.

 

JISRA Indonesia is a collaboration of 10 Civil Society Organisations, namely: IMPARSIAL, AMAN Indonesia, Peace Generation, Fahmina Institute, Gusdurian Network Indonesia, Institut DIAN/Interfidei, Institut Mosintuwu, Fatayat NU West Java, Echo Bhineka Muhammadiyah, and Nasyiatul Aisyiyah. Their Consortium Partners led by Mensen met een Missie and Faith to Action Network.

 

IMPARSIAL will be the Indonesian lead of this initiative in collaboration with the other partners. IMPARSIAL is an independent organization focused on research, education, and advocacy for human rights in Indonesia. Since its founding in 2002, it has worked to strengthen democracy, good governance, and human rights protection. A key focus of its work is preventing and countering religious-based violence and extremism while promoting freedom of religion and belief. IMPARSIAL has conducted various initiatives, including judicial reviews, training for police and civil servants on handling hate speech, and capacity-building programs for youth and community leaders to foster tolerance. It also collaborates with diverse stakeholders to raise awareness and advocate for policies aligned with international human rights standards.

 

The JISRA knowledge platform of the University of Groningen will coordinate and oversee the documentation of the existing good practices on PCVE-FoRB localisation from the two countries to synthesize a policy brief of this joint endeavor, highlighting lessons learnt for the region.

 

Tremendous strides in PCVE implementation have been the incorporation of the role of civil society organizations, and women in Indonesia and Kenya. In Indonesia, the adoption process of the UN Secretary-General’s Plan of Action on the Prevention of Violent Extremism involves civil society, especially women. A network of civil society organizations called the Working Group on Women and PCVE (WGWC), formed by civil society, actively contributes gender perspectives to the draft National Action Plan on PVE, which is consulted by the government through several public forums. The collective strength of civil society within WGWC has opened the process to be more inclusive, particularly by involving women, youth, bombing victims, and various other actors.

 

Due to the existence of strategies and policy frameworks in different countries and the challenges in implementation, MM intends to carry out a joint learning exercise across different countries to strengthen the knowledge agenda platform of JISRA, specifically in strategizing PCVE and its localization. This will enable strengthening the FoRB-PCVE nexus as well as the FoRB-Peacebuilding nexus in JISRA interventions.

 

The Objectives of the Peer-to-Peer Learning events are:

 

Main Objective: To explore opportunities for designing PCVE strategies through movement building involving creative approaches at the local levels.

 

Sub Objectives:

1. To explore good practices of PCVE in Kenya and Indonesia based on collective efforts of civil society organizations (CSOs) and partnership/collaborations with national governments where mobilization efforts effectively advocate for the localization of the National Action Plan on Preventing Violent Extremism (NAP on PVE).
2. To explore the existing challenges in the localization of PCVE strategies.

3. To develop a model for civil society organizations (CSOs) advocating the localization of the PVE National Action Plan (PVE NAP) by learning from the experiences and contexts of Kenya and Indonesia.

 

Methodology

 

This peer-to-peer learning exchange is conceptualized to include two build up dialogues (peer-to-peer dialogue) hosted in Kenya and Indonesia culminating in a joint in person event in Kenya in January 2025. The final event will bring about 30 participants from Indonesia, Kenya, and other countries in the East African region.

 

Expected Outputs

 

1. Document effective approaches by CSOs in designing strategies for PCVE localization.
2. Analyze the barriers and difficulties experienced by civil society organizations (CSOs) during the localization process of the National Action Plan on Preventing Violent Extremism (NAP on PVE).
3. Enhanced participants’ comprehension of distinct models of civil society organization (CSO) movement building, aimed at advocating for the localization of PVE within specific local contexts.

4. Exchange learning on CSO movement building in advocating PVE localization.

 

Participants

 

These events will bring together state and non-state actors from Kenya and Indonesia. The final event will bring in participants from Kenya, Indonesia, and the broader East African region such as Uganda, Tanzania, Ethiopia, Somalia, and Mozambique.

 

Speakers and Moderator for Hybrid Dialogue

 

Peer-to-Peer Hybrid Dialogue 1: 

To be hosted in Mombasa, Kenya, by KECOSCE on “Strategies for Designing and Implementing Local Efforts to Prevent Violent Extremism and Promote Freedom of Religion or Belief (FoRB)” at English Point Hotel, Mombasa

Wednesday, 23^rd October 2024

Speakers:

1. Mr. Joseph Kanyiri (Chief Liaison Officer, Prevention and Resilience, National Counter Terrorism Center/NCTC – Kenya)
2. Mr. Andhika Chrisnayudhanto (Deputy for International Cooperation, Indonesia National Counter-Terrorism Agency/BNPT)
3. Ms. Phyllis Muema (Executive Director, Kenya Community Support Centre/KECOSCE)
4. Ms. Ruby Kholifah (AMAN Indonesia/WGWC Secretariat)

Moderator: Dr. Fathima Azmiya Badurdeen

 

For more information, please contact:

 

For Kenya:                                                                                      For Indonesia:

Ms. Phyllis Muema                                                               Mr. Ardi Manto Adiputra

Kenya Community Support Centre (KECOSCE)                    IMPARSIAL

Cell phone: + 254 725 407277                                                    Cell phone: +62 812 6194 4069

Email: [email protected]                                                        Email: [email protected]

Website: www.kecosce.org                                                          Website: www.imparsial.org