An international conference on “The Role of Education in Preventing Terrorism and Extremism” was held in Riyadh on Tuesday to discuss countries’ experiences in preventing extremism and terrorism.
It highlighted the role of education and educational awareness about the danger of terrorist and extremist groups.
Organized by the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), represented by Sawt Al-Hikma (Voice of Wisdom) Center and Naif Arab University for Security Sciences, the conference sought to increase the culture of coexistence through improving educational mechanisms.
In his opening address, Dr. Yussef Al-Othaimeen, OIC Secretary-General, said the conference was held in light of major international transformations and the International Coalition’s military victory against the ISIS terrorist group.
He added that the OIC was at the forefront of organizations that seek to spread the message of moderation and consolidate the values of tolerance enshrined in Islam, and to counter the rhetoric of hatred, violence and terrorism.
He stressed that the best means to fight terrorism, extremism and Islamophobia was promoting education.
The conference would present international success stories on the development of modern models to deal with all phenomena of violence and extremism through the use of soft power education.
In this regard, he underlined the importance of referring to the “Strategy for the Development of Education in the Islamic World,” adopted by the Islamic Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ISESCO), at its first conference of Ministers of Education in Tunis in 2016.
Al-Othaimeen noted that the strategy aims to contribute to the development of education systems in the countries of the Islamic world and to strengthen the role of educational institutions to raise the awareness of young learners about the threats of violence, extremism and terrorism against them and their communities.
