DUSHANBE, October 29, 2015, Asia-Plus 28 October 2015 – Organized by the OSCE office in Tajikistan, a roundtable discussion on the lessons learned from the ‘Parents against Terrorism’ training project took place in Dushanbe on October 28, focusing on feedback from those involved in delivering the training since November 2014.

According to the OSC Office, the course aims to help communities develop their understanding of, and resilience to violent extremism and radicalization that lead to terrorism (VERLT).

A network of 180 trainers from local governmental and civil society partners has been engaged in delivering the training course. More than 50 training sessions were held so far, benefiting directly over 2,500 individuals across the country. This number is expected to increase three-fold with the support of the NGO Save the Children Tajikistan and their women’s network.

“Resilience can be built from the bottom up by following a whole-of-society approach.  The Office in Tajikistan has assisted governmental partners not only to engage effectively with civil society and community members to disseminate this crucial message, but also in developing a national strategy to combat VERLT,” said Deputy Head of the OSCE Office in Tajikistan, Fabio Piana.  “The impact of VERLT on societies can only be mitigated through comprehensive efforts to build open and cohesive communities and to raise awareness at the grassroots level.”

The threat of terrorist radicalization and recruitment is a key concern for OSCE participating States and a strategic focus area for the Organization.  The OSCE Secretary General and Serbia’s 2015 OSCE Chairmanship have launched on 1 July 2015 an OSCE-wide campaign under the slogan “OSCE United in Countering Violent Extremism” (#UnitedCVE).

The ‘Parents against Terrorism’ training course was developed by the Office in Tajikistan in co-operation with the Tajik Ministry of Labor, Migration and Social Employment.  The project is supported by the British and German Embassies in Dushanbe, and the Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs.