Officially inaugurated in April 2018, The IGAD Centre of Excellence for Preventing and Countering Violent Extremism (ICEPCVE), the premier Preventing and Countering Violent Extremism (P/CVE) institution on the African continent, was established within the framework of recognized international mandates and particularly the UN Secretary General’s Preventing Violent Extremism Action Plan of January 2016.
Since its establishment, the Centre continues to execute its mandate in promoting the sharing of good practices and lessons learnt from initiatives to prevent and counter violent extremism in the East and Horn of Africa region; by adopting a whole of society approach, ICEPCVE has continued to bring together state and non-state actors involved in P/CVE work to ensure an inclusive and holistic approach.
Over the years, the Centre has amassed a critical movement of actors actively involved in P/CVE in East and Horn of Africa, consequently building a vibrant network of civil society organizations, youth, women, researchers, teachers, religious leaders, media practitioners and legislators across the region who are hosted on the ICEPCVE digital hub, a mobile enabled application which provides a platform to continue exchanging on matters P/CVE. The radicalization and recruitment efforts by the violent extremists’ continue in earnest on online and offline platforms and as such ICEPCVE remains dedicated in expanding the critical movement of actors in P/CVE.
The Centre remains cognizant that the violent extremism threat is transnational and operates across the borders with impunity thus this unique approach of working with varied critical actors is complemented by its intended focus on local community engagement based on the understanding that the threat begins at the local level.
