ADI conference to address the new landscape of terrorism

Leading international terrorism experts will gather in Melbourne from 17 – 19 February to discuss practical efforts to stop the spread of ISIS and extremism around the world.

Hosted by the Alfred Deakin Institute for Citizenship and Globalisation (ADI), the ‘Addressing the New Landscape of Terrorism’ conference will have a particular focus on youth and the increased need to enable Muslim youth to counter terrorism by being a force for positive social and political change.

Prominent ADI researchers will be joined by more than 50 global contemporaries including former Chief Strategist CT White House Dr David Kilcullen, Professor Mark Sedgwick from Aarhus University Denmark, Professor David Cook from Rice University USA, Professor Robert Pape from University of Chicago, and Professor Rik Coolsaet from Ghent University Belgium.

Providing their own personal perspectives will be French-Algerian rapper and activist Médine, former Guantanamo Bay prisoner Mourad Benchellali, prominent Muslim community activists including Mohamed Kozbar and Isabelle Praile, and Perth Muslim youth workers Khaled Boutaffala and Aisha Novakovich.

ADI Director Professor Fethi Mansouri said the conference will bring academics, policy makers and practitioners together in what is sure to be a dynamic, thought-provoking and challenging conference.

“ADI passionately believes that countering violent extremism can and must be done differently where meaningful partnership with communities and rigorous academic knowledge are absolutely paramount,” Professor Mansouri explained.

“This conference will show the way forward in this endeavour.

“The interconnectivity of this new type of extremism creates an urgent need for a more sophisticated understanding of the phenomenon through empowering Muslim communities, particularly young Muslims and encouraging them to be actors of positive social and political change.”

The full conference program and schedule is available at the ADI website.

The conference is hosted by ADI and sponsored by the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT), the National Broadcasting and Telecommunication Commission of Thailand, the Australian Intervention and Support Hub, the United States and French embassies, and the Australian Intervention Support Hub.