1. Youth Education as a Long-Term Counter Narrative Approach to Preventing Violent Extremism IS leverages local narratives and Islamic ideologies to exploit grievances, distort facts and religious interpretation, assign blame, and legitimizing violence perpetrated against civilian non-combatants (Hyslop 2014) During periods of crisis, estrangement, abandonment or alienation, an adolescent will seek a shared narrative through group consensus (Siegel 2013) To prevent U.S. adolescents from resorting to violent extremism, public and private schools should implement educational projects for all students between the ages of 8 and 24 that cultivates appreciation for diversity and learn strategies to channel anger and grievances Cultivate Appreciation for Diversity Identifying inter-group social contracts can build trust through relationship-building to foster cross-cultural understanding, mutual interests and encourage tolerance, which can alter long- term attitudes (Babbitt 2013) Douglas McCain, (left) Muslim convert and IS fighter killed in Syria Photo: AP 26 August 2014 Abdirahmaan Muhumed, (right) from Somali diaspora community and IS fighter killed in Syria Photo: The Somali Press 02 October 2014 Encourage empathy, group accountability, problem-solving, and creativity (Innes 2015) Decrease perceptions of stereotypes/prejudice and may provide trauma healing opportunities through reconciliation (Babbitt 2013) Syrian youth being indoctrinated by IS Photo: ACDemocracy. org 24 January 2015 Strategies to Constructively Channel Anger and Grievances Strategic, role-playing games, such as, Odyssey of the Mind or Model United Nations Reverse role-playing, group dialogues, simulations and problem-solving workshops Youth debrief each other on their emotional reactions and management of those reactions (Lewicki 2003) Radicalized Youth from the U.S. CVE Recommendations Since 2012, the number of deaths resulting from terrorism increased by 61% with an increase of lone-wolf attacks in Western Nations (Hyslop 2014) The Islamic State (IS) recruited 3,400 individuals from Western nations to “HOLD” its Caliphate and further its political agenda through lone-wolf acts worldwide (Watts 2014) Current Situation Islamic States’ Modus Operandi IS provides youth with a call-to-action and recourse to channel one’s political, ethnic, religious, social, and economic grievance (Hyslop 2014). Bottom Line Up Front US Federal CVE Efforts for FY2016 DoJ $4 million allocated to find causes of violent extremism and develop evidence-based strategies for prevention and intervention (James 2015) USAID $188 million allocated for international CVE programs (US State Department and USAID Supported Initiatives to CVE 2015) DHS Empowering Local Partners to Prevent Violent Extremism in the United States targets domestically-grown terrorists at the local level (Dawson 2014) DoS developed the Global Engagement Center to develop CVE counter narratives (Price 2016) Adolescence (Age 12-24) Most Idea- Receptive Most Collaborative Highest Risk-Taking Period Cognitive Opening Expected Outcome of Educational Projects Poster by Katherine Leggiero 2016 GMU SCAR MS Candidate