ICT4Peace in cooperation with UN CTED and the Secdev Foundation co-hosted a conference on “Women, Technology & Partnerships – Countering Terrorist use of the Internet” in Ottawa, Canada. This event was supported by the Government of Canada and CIC National Capital Branch, and is part of the UNCTED/ICT4Peace current global engagement project working with industry, and key stakeholders to develop community standards around the prevention of violent extremism online consistent with UN principles, including the Universal declaration of human rights. The program can be found here and also below.

In the evening a panel discussion on “Women, Violent extremism and the Internet: Empowering Prevention” was organised with the following prominent speakers Dr. Sanam Naraghi-Anderlini, Dr. Sheema Khan, Ms. Naureen Chowdhury Fink. The discussion included inter alia the following points: “Women can help prevent violent extremism. Women also commit violent extremist acts. Women can be cheerleaders, and women are often victims. These truths are made more complex as more and more women across the globe leapfrog onto the internet. Now more than ever, there is great potential for women to amplify their outreach and impact in preventing violent extremism. But with this empowerment comes increased risk.”

The CVs of the panelists and moderator can be found here.