GCERF Approves New Partnership with Indonesia for Prevention of Violent Extremism
GCERF Approves New Partnership with Indonesia for Prevention of Violent Extremism
GCERF Approves New Partnership with Indonesia for Prevention of Violent Extremism
Geneva, 07 August 2023: The Global Community Engagement and Resilience Fund (GCERF) announced today that it will begin to fund projects to prevent violent extremism in Indonesia, expanding GCERF’s reach to 22 countries globally. Grant support to community-led initiatives is expected to commence in 2024.
Indonesia is ranked 24th in the Global Terrorism Index, which tracks the incidence of terrorist attacks over time as one measure of the impact of terrorism on a country. The Government of Indonesia’s response to the terrorist threat has been significantly strengthened over the last 20 years, however, and GCERF’s grant funding will support cascading this response down to the community level and reinforcing sustainability. Indonesia joins three other countries in the Asia-Pacific region to partner with GCERF, including Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and the Philippines, and expands a regional platform for mutual support between civil society organisations.
To date GCERF has committed approximately USD 22 million in donor funds to the Asia-Pacific region, representing nearly 30% of GCERF’s portfolio since the global fund to prevent violent extremism was launched in 2014. Regionally, these investments have directly engaged more than one million people in initiatives to prevent extremist recruitment and to promote tolerance and peace. Millions more have been reached through the positive impact on at-risk communities in the three countries since the earliest grants were signed in 2015.
“Indonesia’s strategy to prevent and counter violent extremism applies a ‘whole of society’ approach to violent extremism, building community resilience by engaging local actors, including women, children and youth, and civil society.” said Andhika Chrisnayudhanto, Deputy for International Cooperation of Indonesia’s National Counter Terrorism Agency. “GCERF’s model aligns well with this approach, and we strongly believe that this partnership will serve to bolster the implementation of Indonesia’s National Action Plan.”
Grants for activities to prevent violent extremism also aims to reinforce the trend towards decreased extremism in the Asia-Pacific Region, from which Indonesia remains an outlier. While overall the region has seen a trend towards fewer extremist events, Indonesia has seen the opposite trend in the past four years (GTI Index 2023).
“GCERF welcomes the opportunity to support both the government of Indonesia, and civil society organisations which have the closest insights into solutions that will build greater resilience in communities most at risk,” said Dr Khalid Koser, Executive Director of GCERF. “We are certain that experience and knowledge gained through support to countries in the region or globally will also add value to our partnership with Indonesia.”
Based on a request by the government of Indonesia, the Global Community Engagement and Resilience Fund will rapidly begin work with relevant ministries and local civil society organisations to identify effective local partners for grant funding. As with all the countries where GCERF supports prevention initiatives, all grant funding is channeled to civil society organisations, in consultation with governments.
ENDS
Based in Geneva, Switzerland, GCERF is a global fund making grants to support community-led projects in countries where the risk of violent extremism is high. GCERF supports more than 277 civil society partners around the world with grants of an initial duration of three years. Projects supported by GCERF aim to reach vulnerable individuals and communities, equipping them to be better able to counter violent extremist rhetoric and efforts to recruit new members.
The new grants will build in features to ensure continuity beyond the period where the countries receive GCERF funding. Long-term sustainability of community-led initiatives is a key feature of all GCERF grants. To date, projects supported by GCERF have reached more than three million people directly at risk of radicalisation and recruitment, at an average cost of only USD 39 per person.
To see where GCERF works please visit: GCERF Map
To learn more about GCERF please visit: www.gcerf.org
Media contacts:
media@gcerf.org
Rosie Vanek: r.vanek@gcerf.org +41 79 570 4056
Sai Konda: s.konda@gcerf.org
Image: Shutterstock- The people of Indonesia and the scene in Wonosobo, Indonesia.