WASHINGTON: President Barack Obama will host an international summit on countering violent extremism on Feb 18, the White House said on Sunday.

Leaders from major world powers and from the countries affected by terrorism are also expected to attend this summit.

The meeting will “highlight domestic and international efforts to prevent violent extremists and their supporters from radicalising, recruiting, or inspiring individuals or groups in the United States and abroad to commit acts of violence,” White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest said. Recent tragic attacks in Ottawa, Sydney, and Paris have further accentuated the need for highlighting such efforts, the White House said.

This summit will build on the strategy the White House released in August of 2011, “Empowering Local Partners to Prevent Violent Extremism in the United States,” the first national strategy to prevent violent extremism domestically.

Mr Earnest noted that efforts to counter violent extremism relied heavily on well-informed and resilient local communities. He also noted Boston, Los Angeles, and Minneapolis-St. Paul had taken the lead in building pilot frameworks.

The frameworks integrate a range of social service providers, including education administrators, mental health professionals, and religious leaders, with law-enforcement agencies to address violent extremism as part of the broader mandate of community safety and crime prevention. The summit will highlight best practices and emerging efforts from these communities. The White House noted that US partners around the world were also actively implementing programmes to prevent violent extremism and foreign terrorist fighter recruitment. The summit will include representatives from a number of partner nations, focusing on the themes of community engagement, religious leader engagement, and the role of the private sector and tech community.

Through presentations, panel discussions, and small group interactions, participants will build on local, state, and federal government; community; and international efforts to better understand, identify, and prevent the cycle of radicalisation to violence at home in the United States and abroad.

Published in Dawn, January 12th, 2015

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