Professor Grossman traveled to South Africa to present at conference

AVERT Convener, Professor Michele Grossman recently travelled to Pretoria and Johannesburg, South Africa, as a guest of the Australian High Commission as part of their international expert exchange program in the area of countering violent extremism. Michele presented her recent work (conducted in collaboration with Canadian colleagues at Dalhousie University) on developing a measure for youth resilience to violent extremism in culturally diverse contexts at an intervention-focused workshop co-sponsored by ALPS-Resilience; at the Good Governance Africa conference on 'Extremisms in Africa', and to a specialist group of government personnel in South Africa's Dept. of International Relations and Cooperation.

Michele was also interviewed on CVE issues by Radio Islam South Africa during her stay, and you can hear the full interview here:

A professor and research chair in Diversity and Community resilience has told Radio Islam that it’s morally and ethically wrong to blame an entire community for their belief system or their identity for acts of extremism and terrorism.

The Launch of the AVERT Research Network

(Addressing Violent Extremism and Radicalisation to Terrorism)

 KEYNOTE LAUNCH SPEAKERS:

  • Mr Tony Sheehan, Commonwealth Counter-Terrorism Coordinator, Dept. of Home Affairs
  • Dr Hass Dellal AO, Executive Director, Australian Multicultural Foundation

AVERT is a globally engaged multidisciplinary research initiative of the Alfred Deakin Institute for Citizenship Globalisation at Deakin University. AVERT brings an outstanding group of critically engaged academics together with community and government partners who research for the public good through understanding and developing solutions to the social harms created by violent extremism and terrorism.

Our research agenda tackles issues, challenges and new thinking around causes, pathways, prevention, intervention, diversion and disengagement from violent extremism and terrorism across the political and ideological spectrum.

AVERT members collaborate extensively with communities, practitioners and policy makers to create new knowledge, innovations and evidence for how best to address the multi-level challenges and impacts of violent extremist ideology and action on social cohesion, community safety and wellbeing, and national security.

Date: Wednesday 4th April

Location: Deakin Downtown, Level 12, Tower 2, 727 Collins Street, Melbourne CBD

(near Southern Cross Station)

Time: 4pm – 6pm

To register for this event: https://www.eventbrite.com.au/e/launch-of-avert-research-network-tickets-44012468478

Please feel free to bring other colleagues in your networks along to the launch.

For further information, please contact adi-avert@deakin.edu.au

‘Doing our Duty’: British Counter-Terrorism Policies and Education

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Dr. Shamim Miah & Professor Paul Thomas, Centre for Research in Education and Society, University of Huddersfield, UK

DATE:             THURSDAY, 23 NOVEMBER 2017

TIME:              3 – 5 PM (refreshments following the seminar)

VENUE:         Deakin University Downtown, Level 12, Tower 2, 727 Collins

Street, Melbourne (near Southern Cross Station)

RSVP TO:      adi-avert@deakin.edu.au for catering purposes

MUSLIMS, SCHOOLING AND SECURITY

Dr. Shamim Miah

This presentation focuses on the recent educational policy debates surrounding Muslims, schooling and the question of security in light of the UK’s Counter-Terrorism Security Act (2015). The paper analyses the infamous ‘Trojan Horse’ affair involving allegations of ‘extremism’ within Muslim-dominated state schools in Birmingham, and critically examines counter-terrorism and security discourse in light of theoretical insights from the study of securitisation and racial politics.

RESPONDING TO RESPONSIBILISATION: EDUCATORS IMPLIMENTING THE PREVENT DUTY IN SCHOOLS AND COLLEGES

Professor Paul Thomas

The 2015 Counter-Terrorism Act placed a formal legal duty on all British frontline education, health and welfare professionals to spot and report individuals viewed as being ‘at risk’ of radicalisation and extremist involvement – a clear shift of focus for ‘responsibilisation’ within the Prevent Strategy. High-profile cases of inappropriate referrals of Muslim students reported in the media seem to confirm the arguably Islamophobic reality of this policy measure. Yet how representative of ground-level Prevent Duty implementation are such cases? Data from recently completed empirical research with educators in English schools and colleges highlights complex experiences in which the influence of ground-level institutions and ‘street-level’ bureaucrats serve to mediate and potentially reposition the impacts of Prevent in schools as a process of policy enactment.