Google Ideas, Google's new "think/do" tank, in association with the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) and the Tribeca Film Festival, convened a summit against violent extremism in Dublin, Ireland, from June 26 to 29, 2011. The summit brought together more than sixty "formers"—from inner-city gang members and right-wing militants to violent nationalists and religious extremists—for three days of debates and workshops. The "formers" have rejected violence and actively and publicly work against such violent extremism, either through their own or other nonprofit organizations. Jared Cohen, CFR adjunct senior fellow and director of Google Ideas, directed the event.

The summit initiated discussions on understanding how young people become radicalized, how to discourage them from making a transition to violence, how to deradicalize those who are currently engaged in violent extremism, and the role of technology in these areas. It also served as a platform for developing partnerships among NGOs, fostering collaboration between private and public organizations, and offering new analysis for the debate over the best ways to prevent and counter radicalization.

With "formers" from Asia, the Middle East, Latin America, North America, and Europe, the summit included a broad range of perspectives. Survivors of violent extremism, along with more than one hundred delegates from civil society organizations, academia, technology companies, government, media, and the private sector, also attended.

Since violent extremism is an ongoing challenge, the summit was meant to serve as the beginning of a conversation. The results of this conversation—such as background papers, policy proposals, multimedia features, and further CFR resources on issues surrounding radicalization—will appear on this page.

Videos from the Summit Against Violent Extremism:

Jared Cohen discusses radicalization, the role of technology, and why Google is bringing former violent extremists together.

Ed Husain discusses perceptions of common causes of radicalization across political contexts.

Related Materials

Please visit www.againstviolentextremism.org and www.youtube.com/formers for additional materials from the Summit Against Violent Extremism.