Participation

The role of women is important in participating in the decision-making process on all political, economic and social platforms. Children and young people must be cared for and provided with educational opportunities throughout their lives, with a view to knowing

Fourthly, it will be crucial to give due consideration to the impact of terrorist and violent extremist ideologies on women in affected communities. We must revisit the traditional approaches, in which women are seen as victims of terrorism and violent extremism, and further explore their potential roles as agents of prevention, resilience and change at the community level — and even as perpetrators.

Governments have the primary responsibility for preventing extremism, but they can only succeed if  they work closely with civil society, including with young people and women. That is why Norway has initiated the launch of two civil-society networks. First, there is YouthCAN, which is a network of young people working together against violent extremism, not least by developing alternative narratives.

Secondly, deradicalization programmes must be complemented by counter-radicalization, which aims at providing the public with narratives to counter those of the terrorists. Our counter-radicalization programmes involve many important stakeholders, such as educational and religious institutions, youth organizations, media, women, victims of terrorist attacks and even former terrorists, at both the national and provincial levels.