to work within the committee but how are we going to make sure we conclude this, that it is not a stigmatized label and -- ostracize a committee. and the approach was that this was an issue that was too complex to be contained within a small group. that we had to bring all of these different expertise. but also we have to beware of this complexity. we have to invite all kinds of voices into the discussion to we have to all of them. and the other thing was that we didn't have to label one community. because you know what at the start of all of this is how do we protect vulnerable youth? and the fight with someone like governor brown who has worked on getting issues in boston, and has worked with this without we work with committees but prevent youth from big recruit into games and the amounts. so we said we will have to take

an approach that should be imam's not about islam. it is not about muslims. it's not a muslim problem. it's a boston problem, use problem, a world problem. islam is not the issue or the problem. it's not the violence. islam though can be the resource that helps us counter the violence. and so that framework helped a lot. that framework was not only based on our feelings as community members by do my own research with youth. we talked over 500 somali youth across three states and candidate. one of the things we found was youth that tells they were marginalized were more likely to be endorsed by fund. this was we cannot try to solve our problems -- paraphrasing here -- by using the same thinking that get us into

diverse. and we cannot hate ourselves out of this. we cannot blame each other out of this. we can relate to each other, and this is by building relationships and inclusiveness. that is the approach we're taking that will allow us to build a strong community. thank you. >> in developing the framework one of the challenges we had is we have a variety of different communities in boston. it's not, the pilot cities each ahave different issues and in many ways that's the beauty of having three buried cities. but in terms of empowering -- buried -- to really help and to really do the work that it needs to do to prevent radicalization that moves onto violent extremism, there's a question about the relationship involving youth obviously and the school to vote like to turn to you, given your experience in the boston public school system, can you tell us how long do this

that initiative we can work within existing school system to engage people, especially youth, who may be vocal to recruit? >> sure, thank you. i want to say it's an honor and a privilege to be here anti-representing the boston public schools. so boston public schools counseling and intervention center provides 10 days of intensive counseling, assessment and intervention and decision-making curriculum for students who have violated the code of conduct. we provide those services to more than 1200 students a year. this alternative to suspension serves to keep kids in school and engaged rather than out on the street where we know they're more likely to have trouble. most of these disaffected youth have experienced trauma, violence at home or in the community, social exclusion

bullying, and most have been impacted by poverty. even more they have been unsuccessful at connecting with a caring adult in school, at home, or in the community. while the idea of the countering violent extremism is new to the school, the work necessary to identify and intervene is parallel to the work long being done in addressing street gangs. both the street gangs and violent extremists lower the most vulnerable in with promises of a better life with a purpose and a place to belong. we see that the most honorable and easily manipulated are those who despite numerous attempts from an early age to engage have not been successful. these failed joiners, and you may have heard that term in

talking about bullying prevention and intervention as well, it is the failed joiners that we are most concerned about who feel angry disrespected and humiliated, and are most likely to commit further acts of violence. boston public schools has a long history of providing trauma informed student support services to all students with social and emotional stability, bullying prevention and intervention in lieu of suspension to these universal supports and the emphasis is universal, are normalized for students, decreasing the statement of use and access to those services. in fact, when a counselor goes to a classroom and asks to see a student, the question is not where is that student going the question from the peers is often, am i going to get to see

a counselor so it has become such a normalized in the actual fiber of the boston public schools itself. preventing and intervene in the cycle of violence requires early engagement with families and caregivers. the development of relationships and trust to connect with schools takes time. by providing culturally relevant opportunities for families and caregivers through currently existing forms. so we don't have to re-create the wheel. we just have to use the forms that are currently in place parent universities, welcome centers, schools like councils and school and districtwide family events increase the likelihood of families reaching out for support the community partnerships with schools law enforcement, crisis services and child welfare services build the very foundation of this work. most significant is our

partnership with the boston police department and their threat assessment unit and operation homefront unit. they are a combination of police social workers as well as clergy lee -- clergy going into homes supporting families and students who are most at risk. pairs of action reported great appreciation for these programs, and those who are most reluctant to have the pastors and the police come into their home, once they are there they talk for hours and sometimes called back and ask for interventions for the other students. so they really see it as a support service rather than a police action and that is the intention. normalizing the involvement of these partners before punitive measures are taken helps to build positive relationships and trust within the community. finally this work takes

resources and commitment from districts and municipalities. however, in this area of measuring success and accountability through testing support services are often the first to be cut. this leaves a gaping hole for the most affordable students to be manipulated by those seeking to recruit them to do harm. thank you. >> thank you. i'm going to move it along because we are really limited with time. so given the role, focus and social media another there's been a lot said about this today so you could just briefly, in terms of with respect to the addition, can you talk about the goals and solutions that we are considered as part of the program? >> one of the things that the boston group identified as a problem area was social media, and it's something that everyone in every community has access

to, and would also stop social media as part of the solution part of the work that we need to work on when we go back home. and that's because, as we talked a little bit about today, that as technology has changed almost on a daily basis extremists are using it to recruit and to justify and sanction violence. and it's making it more accessible and more practical to get for everyone. one of the fundamental elements of extremist propaganda is anti-semitism, which is often packaged with explicit calls for violence against jewish targets, but also against law enforcement are also against democratic ideals. there are certain common themes that we see in the recruitment in the use of social media. these are used to recruit essentially a cadre of would be extremists, whether it be in the

united states or in other parts of the world. the days of face-to-face interaction are no longer a requirement for recruiting people. and so we identified this as an area to focus on. we also concluded that communities need to be educated about ways to protect people from being recruited, and that this called for, essentially a diverse counter narrative that had a very broad and far-reaching impact. and as you have heard from everyone on our panel we didn't think that action impacted one particular community. we viewed it as impacting the entire community. and those of us in boston are no stranger to the impact that this can have. and the focus really has been on strategy to deconstruct the extremist narrative by using communication platforms and to disseminate a new counter narrative. and we have to make that counter

narrative as attractive and that's appealing as the call is to commit violence in the first place. so the challenge on us is very very high, and boston's political community and religious leaders have to work together. it's an inclusive working together process to curb both harmful consequences of the spread of hateful rhetoric and ideology. and i think for those of us who worked on this from boston, the real work is going to be when we go home. we are all committed to now implementing and working together to make this change happen. >> thank you. we are led to have to and the panel is that i could? >> that is accurate last night. >> -- [laughter] >> thirty seconds to go with the spirit go ahead, close it up nabeel. >> thirty seconds? all right. thank you.

in 2013 if you want out of the boston marathon bombing our council responded to the need for committee involvement and intervention to prevent possible future detriment from misguided youth. our commitment to learn about the radicalization process and understand the influencers and great programs to stop recruitment from happening. once the program is built around early education and as that is a special board to meet as a father the teenage son. if we we look at the data we realize we don't need compelling budgets. the fbi says that in less than a five year but less than 6% of terrorism domestically perpetrated by muslims. in 2011 pew research center said there was no signs of growth or alienation from muslim supporting extremism. however, we know there is an expansion of extremism and the recruits are always looking for kids and ideology impacts people in this country as well as countries around the world. and in new england we have kids

that are always over to the seductive techniques of the extremists. so just to get to the gist of what we do, we are developing a model of youth education as a workshop that is implementing for ideas a faith-based approach that encourages rational problem-solving skills in the face of adversity and intimidation anti-bowling programs clothing the tools that extremist views online and off-line to prey upon the youth. we give kids an option, if they can get help when they're vulnerable and we give parents tools to deal with and understand all aspects of this issue. this program is meant to be shared with the imams and the schoolteachers and the youth directors of our schools and facilities. we are going to great person-to-person workshops, have role-playing to encourage youth to feel empowered using nonviolent strategies if the religious as it is our challenge to there's a flowchart everything we want them to fall

so they can make the best choices to act on and we want them to of course all good muslim role models which in our case is our prophet mohammed peace be upon him, how he would react. this has been described as a dare program and then what would prophet muhammad you role model approach. we include anger management, review and practice these techniques, encourage self discipline and self control, designing components that deal with identifying friend or peer who might be at risk and ways to get them referred for help like suicide prevention guidelines. we are in corporate history of in america using secular role models and respected advocates of nonviolence, and we want to emphasize diversity of all kinds of which we are part. we are not trying to re-create the wheel but we want to create a wheel that we can take to new roads that have been inaccessible so far. so far the hope is that we can create an online version of this once we have refined it and share with muslims around the country and around the world. and as a father i never want to see any. you with what has happened folks

have lost their kids to modern extremism. english islam is not to blame for the threat of violent extremism during our youth but it can be and will be a solution for helping to become spiritual educated and worldly strong to resist the impulse of some files but when i was touring washington d.c. earlier today with my son and yesterday, it was apparent that the values of our founding fathers were just like the valleys of my father and his father before him. and it was reminder that islamic values are shared with american values. and as we become a community that is boston strong we are going to work as muslims with our fellow citizens to become america's strong. on behalf of the islamic center and the islamic council of new england, i thank you very much for supporting our work. >> thank you very much. thank you, everyone. [applause] >> thank you to all of our panels from boston, minnesota and los angeles. we have about 23 minutes left before we have to get prepared

for our keynote speaker. so without further ado i'm going to introduce the final presentation, jared cohen from google ideas, michael davidson from gen x and the institute. come on up guys. >> thank you so much. i'm told in about 20 minutes will a presidential set up so it will be slightly abridged. the focus of this session is to highlight a partnership between google ideas, the institute for strategic dialogue and the chin next foundation using technology to counter violent extremism online and off-line. but before we do that i want to say a little bit about why google ideas is tackling the challenge of violent extremism as a salute to the actual work that you heard from my colleague victoria cross. about four and half years ago eric schmidt and i stood up google ideas based on this

assumption that we wanted the country to be proactive about the intersection of technology and some of those complicated and difficult global security challenges. we want to build an engineering and product team that could also great tools that could be used to address them. you hear government talks a lot about needing to organize around challenges like violent extremist the it's the same and the private sector to google ideas falls in sort of a unique place within a corporate environment, in the sense of the challenges we focus on from repressive societies to elicit networks to violent extremism don't fall in obvious for business box or in obvious corporate social responsibly/philanthropy boss. they go around international security and business. when we started the first challenge that we start to focus on was violent extremists. just as we would with the product we begin with are convening power to try to break down the problems in a way that

was sufficiently concrete for our engineers to try to troubleshoot. we convene the summit against violent extremism in june 2011 where we brought together about 100 former violent religious extremists, former violent far right extremist, former gang members and form violent nationalist, literally from dozens of countries that were brought together survivors technologists, ngos and public policy. what we were struck by is how similar the radicalization process was across each of these different contexts and how much they hated being compared to each other. because it took away from each of them what they thought was exceptional and remarkable about themselves, and broken down as these are violent organizations that basically exploit children when we remove the mask of religion and ideology, what we found there is a dangerous and exacted sense of the root cause of all this is religion. you heard my colleague cited earlier that what we found is that are often young people a sense of empowerment, an outlet for adventure enhanced status

code group to belong to. they are starting a broken soul to get access to some pretty dangerous tools to that's the problem we are confronted with. the second observation we came away with before i turn over to slash and michael is around technology. we -- inaction only will we come from a research is that more conductivity as not fueling radicalization but it's quite the opposite. if you go back to the not so distant past, that used to be avail i think is around the radicalization process but it would happen in caves, completely off the grid and when the opportunities we have for intervention today. terrorists have been practicing their physical factors for the last 1500, 2000 years. their digital tactics are much newer and we have much less expertise than they did the i'm going to turn it over to sasha and michael and will talk about remarkable action network that came after the summit which

focuses on taking advantage of one of the best assets we have which is the fact that violent extremists are vastly outnumbered by those who oppose it, and that's even more the case on my but i'm to issue do sasha. >> inc. is a much and i'm honored that i know have to do this in fast forward. so very quickly we are delighted and we're excited to share with you some of the tools we've developed to counter extremism across ideology with you. i should just start by saying that as a think tank that's worked to counter extremism in all forms over the last 10 years, the most innovative and most effective work we've done to date has been as a result of these kinds of private sector partnerships, perhaps unsurprisingly. we need more of them. just a couple of words about the problem before we get started. i've let you take a look at this quote. anybody recognize it? interestingly, this is a

statement made as far back as 2002 by osama bin laden. and what it says is that long before i system extremist groups have understood the strength of soft power. and they were extremely quick to understand the opportunities in this regard that the digital era presents. they understand how to hypercharged their messaging. they've got a head start on us. we all know very well that isis can give master classes in branding and peer-to-peer social media marketing the they've even created their own twitter application at the we heard about those earlier. that the real problem here in our eyes is the monumental gap that we've allowed to transpire between their tech-savvy 24/7 strategic propaganda machinery on the one hand and our counter efforts on the other. that little guy there, that is us or the old-fashioned megaphone to we did some research for the game government that uncovered just a big that

gap is to out response is essentially amounted to a handful, handfuls may become of small-scale, unconnected insisting, i'm professionalized counter narratives. we are being outdone both in terms of content, quantity and quality, and in terms of amplification strategies. the problem is that governments are ill placed to lead in the battle of ideas. credible voices and activist many of whom who are here, have been general lack the skills and infrastructure to reach the target audience is that they need to be reaching. capabilities of course that are private sectors possessed in vast quantities of data using to sell us stuff at this point still not that scale to help us with this kind of messaging challenge, a communications challenge of our time. and so they've had a head start. we have had no sears strategy competition to date and to we start to ask yourself if isis has a branding and marketing department, where is ours?

so we have turned itself into an expanded. just due back from a terrorist in the most successful tactic to the private sector board and innovate and trial as many responses as possible, each character specific audience just as they do it from upstream to downstream. so in the first place will look at the content gap. there's been a lot of focus on taking step down but we know that on its own has limited impact. instead we start to look at what competition would look like and we turn to our network of survivors from some of the most qualified and credible voices in this space and we asked them for ideas. and living in tradition to abdullah x., greeted by want of our members. -- created by one of our members. not working? i'm going to move on. go back, go back, go back. the technology fails us to this is proving our point but never

mind. let me tell you what we learned from abdullah x. the video you can find on youtube. he has his own channel so i direct you there. what we've learned credible content is absolutely crucial but on its own it doesn't do the job. without the support that we were able to give with our combined partnerships, abdullah x was reaching about 50 random people online. as part of a pilot that we did with a working group that we co-chaired with google ideas we were able to hypercharged that terminated and what that meant was inserted abdullah x into their space extremes were using them just as they start to occupy the space is that we hang out in. it meant anchoring this extremist, is content to extremist twitter accounts, posting it on extremist pages having it pop out when of you searched for jihad in shape and within just a few months this one from reaching just those 50

random people to 100000 of our target group. and that is individuals searching to go to syria for jihad. and so we now know what can work because we can measure the engagement that abdullah x has had with our target group online. we have that data. and, of course, in the way perhaps the best indicator of abdullah x's success was a five page reputation that it incited an urgent reputation at that from isis. so what we've learned most important i think is that this isn't about vanity metrics. this is not about going viral. we don't need to reach a million of you. we need to reach thousands perhaps of the individuals really at risk and being radicalized. and what we are really doing is turning ourselves into and innovation lab where we can provide the production marketing, targeting, data analytics and campaigns input necessary to credible voices who owns the content themselves, but

require that support. and in 2015 with a combined support of google, now facebook and twitter as well, we are going to be supporting 35 such campaigns. we need hundreds, and that's i hope what we'll be able to do with the growing support in this space. here's another example of some of the stuff that's come out of this innovation a lab of ours. pioneering one-to-one intervention work. this is a pilot we conducted on facebook and it is about taking online what we do with formers off-line, and what we know really works effectively, to walk people back from the edge. right now there's only extremist and intel services really engaging with this constituency online. we were wondering, will this insight may be a 1% response? will those people to reach out to be aggressive largely? probably. in actual fact we had a 35% positive response rate and i

think that's a testament to reaching out with credible voices. these are formed extremists talking to these kids. in terms of reach come in terms of scalability were now working with the private sector to see if some of that outreach can be automated, automated so that we can reach more people in this way. the big question, how do we get ahead of the curve? how did we start to inoculate young people before they get pulled into this extremist ideologies and movements? this is the aim of extreme dialogue. it's an amazing new tool we are launching this week. in fact, we launched yesterday in candida. this is chris. her son died in syria fighting with isis. are absolutely heartbreaking story, and i would challenge anybody here to watch the film that we have made with creative partners, you can find it on the extreme dialogue website to

watch it without weeping and then wonder whether perhaps your own children could end up with such a fate. these kinds of of chris and other individuals in our network, including banjo a former neo-nazi, constitute part of an educational resource that combines these kinds of tests was with a state-of-the-art educational package for teachers, for social workers to use interactively with kids in classrooms from and community centers, around the world we hope. and what we are trying really to do is to take these kinds of stories into every school and community center possible. to start to get those hard conversations going, to start to get kids questioning and thinking critically about these kinds of issues, to mainstream that discussion in a sensitive way. what working with the private

sector means in this particular context is that instead of taking chris and daniel into perhaps one school a day we are able to beam them into hundreds of thousands of schools every day. and that kind of scale is what we really need with the scale of the challenge that we are dealing with. since yesterday, just to give you a sense chris's video has reached over 20,000 people online, that's just in one day. it gives you a sense of the kind of content. so in conclusion i would just say that we part of turning ourselves into this innovation lab, at the heart of which are the private partnerships that we develop here trying to bridge the massive soft power cap that we've allowed to emerge both online and off-line. we now have the data to prove that these approaches work. we have proof context. but what's been done so far is

really a drop in the ocean. help us grow the soft power machinery that we have started to build, matching expertise and credible voices with the private sector capabilities and resources that we really need, so that we can underline, delegitimizes, disrupt come and compete seriously with the machinery the extremist have deployed successfully, and nearly unchallenged so far. ..

ain't you for the private sector philanthropy guide, talking about this type of issue and it is incredible to work with these two and just to be in a room with all of you give to me quite a bit of a burst of energy. i want to direct my comments to anyone from the private sector that is in the room. the foundation uses the philanthropy model to do two things. we look for long term impact and we put them in the eyes of business leaders to make,

reality. why do i my wife and i are attracted to this type of calling? i believe ideas have consequences. i really like people. number 3 and most importantly i really love my kids. i have two twin girls that are almost 5 months old. crazy. i also have a son who is 5 years old. when i think about my life's ethos there's a quote i love. when it comes to the future there are three types of people those who let it happen those who wonder what happened and those who make it happen. that sounds really good and i tend to think of those moments when i think about issues when i am watching my daughter's when i am watching them look at me and i think about what their future is going to be and what role i am playing in creating and also think when my son

repeatedly what it is like to be superman. i may our main not have helped him disclose my natural or real identity as superman but when he asked me about that i would usually, is in the mornings when i spend time with them and i think, i started to read the news and i read about the headings and crucifixions and crazies kicking over a school and killing children and i don't like to be superman. you feel helpless, you feel hopeless it is confusing and often it is natural to be very afraid. this enemy is resilience, they are driven, they are agile and they happen to be using tools the we as a free society created. when you think of the response you need people in a free society who are resilience and agile and driven to take some

on. there's a real opportunity for entrepreneurs and philanthropists to lead the way on this each you. philanthropist's need to find a way to put money at work in a long-term focus ended is in a philanthropy sector and they need to take risks. when you're dealing with c v e there's a lot of risk. entrepreneurs, you need to think about their time, talent and treasury in dedicating this as a cost. is not natural to think about what you do to create jobs, but something when countering extremism. you never expect the san diego entrepreneur online agency and does digital strategy to do counter extremism or just here, from new york, a man of the country, a man of the world he has a business that will completely up and the way we look at advertising.

he is here because he cares about some ideas to save people's lives. we need more people like him and we need more people like us to challenge him. it is not natural to think about being part of this as a cause. when i have moments when i'm got myself as superman and reading the news it is frightening i think to myself i hope the government can figure that out. i want to affect the right person. that matters. we should be completely engage on this issue and i believe that we are and if we are successful with our work, my kids, your kids are going to read about isis in the history books. a won't be dealing with an issue we were unable to deal with. if every single entrepreneur and every philanthropist wake up tomorrow morning and accepts that we, the greatest things all of us cherish is our children's

future, if we make that commitment tomorrow morning then suddenly this won't be a problem my kids won't feel afraid, and going back to that quote about making of a future happen it will be like living in a free society. thank you. [applause] >> the presidential oscar music is about to happen. i promised our colleagues at the white house we would end on time. thank you. [applause] >> president obama's remarks at the white house summit. he is introduced by counterterrorism adviser lisa monaco. this is 40 minutes. [applause] >> good afternoon, everyone. i know that i am the only person

standing between you and the main event so i will be very brief. i want to thank everyone for being here today. law enforcement officers community leaders, teachers, elected officials, foreign ministers and on for oprah numerous thanks so much for taking part today and spending time in these discussions with us. this summit focuses on domestic and international efforts to prevent terrorist attacks like those we have seen most recently in copenhagen, in paris boston and sydney and which occurred daily in places like nigeria, iraq and beyond. in the u.s. thanks to the tireless efforts and sacrifices of our men and women in uniform who are diplomats, intelligence personnel and law enforcement officers since 9/11, our defenses have been hardened, lots have been disrupted and

alliances have been encountering violent extremism in all its forms were not just an american problem or western problem but an international problem. every community touched by violence faces the same questions whether it is boston, paris, baghdad, how can we prevent people from embracing hateful ideologies before they turn to violence? how can we replace the dark world view of extremists in the muslim world or elsewhere with an alternate vision for a brighter future? how can we work together more effectively with our own governments or international partners or local communities? this summit is a place where we are looking to find answers to those questions and develop action plans the hold all of us accountable as we move forward. before we hear from president obama let me make two observations on the last day and

half of discussions. the first is the government cannot meet this challenge alone as you heard from joe biden and others. it is local communities, teachers, religious leaders, families, friends, those of the people best equipped to provide an alternate path before someone is radicalized to violence. governments can help but ultimately the solutions will have to be routed the in local communities. the second point i want to emphasize is countering fine into extremism is a constantly evolving challenge. we have got to keep refining our approach so we can respond to new threats. we can't just rely on traditional tools when we are dealing with internet savvy terrorists who reach across oceans with the click of a mouth. extremists who exploit young people using facebook and twitter. we need to be creative to think outside the box, we need to

leverage our fast intellectual talents, creativity, innovative efforts and spirit technical know-how to take on extremist bankrupt ideologies. i sat down with some of silicon valley's most creative and innovative minds, some of whom i am very thankful of joined us today to discuss this challenge. our conversation included tech entrepreneur content creators, authors, all of whom have an important voice in countering the extremist propaganda on line. we discuss ways to apply integrated network solutions to drown out the hate of groups like al qaeda and isis. one and acted to the hatred spewed by extremists is to lift up the voices of freedom and tolerance. today we're seeing people stepped up to do their part and looking ahead i challenge tech and social media communities to

expand these efforts to give young people more opportunities to raise their voices above the noise of extremists. there's plenty of work to do and i of the past two days have inspired you energize all of you as they have me. we are going to count on each one of you for your good ideas and leadership going forward. now i have the distinct honor of introducing someone who has been laser focus on making sure countering the violent extremism a sensual part of our counterterrorism strategy from first days in office including by developing the first government led strategy to prevent violent extremism ladies and gentlemen please join me in welcoming the president of the united states, barack obama. [applause] >> thank you.

thank you so much. may i please have a seat? thank-you, lisa for the introduction. lisa is an example of countless dedicated public service across the government. in number who are here today who are working tirelessly every single day on behalf of the security and safety of the american people so we appreciate and thanks to all of view for your attendance and participation. for more the 230 years the united states of america has not just in toward the we have arrived, surmounted challenges that might have broken a lesser nation. after a terrible civil war we repaired our union. we weathered a great deal fraction. we became the world's most dynamic economy. we fought fascism, we face down

communism and won. american communities have been destroyed by earthquakes tornadoes, fires and floods and each time we rebuilt. the bombing that killed 168 people could not break oklahoma city. on 9/11 terrorists tried to bring us to our knees, today a new tower soars above new york city and america continues to lead for on the world's. after americans were killed in fort hood and the boston marathon it didn't divide us, we came together as one american family. in the face of horrific acts of violence at a chic temple at a jewish community center outside kansas city, we reaffirmed our commitment to pluralism and

freedom, repulsed by anyone being targeted because of what they look like or who they worship. most recently with the brutal murders in chapel hill of three young muslim americans many muslim americans are worried and afraid and i want to be as clear as i can be. as americans all safe, we stand with you in your grief and offer our love and support. my point is this, we are strong and we are resilient and when tragedy strikes, when we take a hit we pull together and draw on what is best in our character. our optimism, commitment to each other, our commitment to our values and respect for one another. we stand up and we rebuild and

we recover and emerge stronger than before. that is who we are. [applause] >> i failed this because we face genuine challenges to our security. just as we have throughout our history. challenges to our security are not new. it didn't happen yesterday or a week ago or a year ago. we always face challenges. one of those challenges is the terrorist threat from groups like al qaeda and isil. it is not our challenge alone. it is the challenge for the world. isil is terrorizing the people of syria, iraq, the heading and burning human beings acts of cruelty. we have seen deadly attacks in ottawa, sidney, paris and

copenhagen. on the face of this challenge we have marshaled the full force of the united states government and we are working with allies and partners to dismantle terrorist organizations, protect the american people. given the complexity of the challenge and the nature of the enemy, which is not a traditional army, this work takes time and will require vigilance and resilience and perspective but i am confident just as we have for two centuries we will ultimately prevail. part of what gives me confidence is the overwhelming response to the world to the commentary of these terrorists not just revulsion but concrete commitment to work together to thanks which these organizations. the united nations in september i called on the international

community to come together and eradicate the surge of violent extremism and i want to thank all of you for answering this call. tomorrow is the state department government denzel society groups for more than 60 countries focus on the steps we can take as governments i will also speak about how our nations have to remain relentless in our fight, our counterterrorism efforts against groups that are plotting against our country's. but we are here today because of a specific challenge, countering violent extremism. something that is not just a matter of military affairs. by violent extremism we don't just mean terrorists who are killing innocent people. we also mean the ideologies, the infrastructure of extremists, the propagandists the recruiters, the funders who

radicalize and recruit more insight people to violence. we all know there is no one profile of a violent extremist or terrorists, no way to predict who will become radicalized. around the world and the united states, in excuse blacks of violence have been committed against people of different faiths by people of different faiths. which is of course be trail of all our faith. it is not unique to one group. or to one geography or 01 period of time. we are here at this summit because of threats like groups like al qaeda and isil and we are focused on prevention, preventing these groups from radicalizing, recruiting others

to violence in the first place. i have called upon governments to come to the united nations with concrete steps we can take together and today i want to suggest several areas where i believe we can concentrate our efforts. first, we have to confront squarely and honestly the twisted ideologies these terrorist groups used to incite people to violence. leading up to the summit there has been a fair amount of debate in the press and pundits about the words we use to describe and framed this challenge. i want to be clear about how i see it. al qaeda and isil and groups like it are desperate for legitimacy. they try to portray themselves as religious leaders, holy warriors in defense of islam. that is why isil presumes to declare itself the islamic

state. and they propagate the notion that america and the west generally is at war with islam. that is how they recruit, that is how they try to radicalized young people. we must never accept the premise that they put forward. because it is a lie. normal should we grantees terrorists the religious legitimacy that they seek. they are not religious leaders, they are terrorists. [applause] and we are not at war with islam. we are at war with people who have perverted islam. [applause] just as those of us outside

muslim communities need to reject the terrorist narrative that the west and islam are in conflict or modern life and islam are in conflict and i also believe muslim communities have a responsibility as well. al qaeda and isil do draw selectively from the islamic factors. they do depend upon the misperception of around the world. day speech in some fashion for people of muslim faith. islam is somehow inherently violent. there is some sort of clash of civilizations. of course the terrorists do not speak for over a billion muslims who reject their hateful ideology, they know more represent islam than any mad man who kills innocents in the name of god represents christianity or judaism or buddhism or

hinduism. provision is responsible for terrorism, people are responsible for violence and terrorism. [applause] to their credit, respected muslim clerics and scholars in the united states and around world push back on this twisted interpretation of their faith. they want to make very clear what islam stands for and we are joined by some of those leaders today. these religious leaders and scholars preach that islam calls for speech and justice and tolerance toward others and terrorism is prohibited. the koran says whoever kills an innocent as if he has killed all mankind. those though voices that represent over of billion people around the world. if we are going to effectively

isolate terrorists, if we are going to address the challenge of their efforts to recruit our young people, if we are going to lift up the voices of tolerance and pluralism within the muslim community, we have got to acknowledge that their job is made harder by a broader narrative that doesn't exist in many muslim communities around the world, that suggests the west is at odds with his mom in some fashion. the morality which many muslim leaders have spoken to is there's a strain of fought that doesn't embrace isil's tactics or violence, but does buy into the notion the muslim world has suffered historic grievances sometimes attacked, does buy into the belief that so many

ills in the middle east flow from a history of colonialism does buy into the ideas that islam is incompatible with tolerance or has been polluted by western values. those beliefs exists. in some communities around the world they are widespread. so it makes individuals, especially young people who may be disaffected or alienated, or radicalization. we have to talk honestly about those issues. we have to be clear about how rejecting certain ideas suggested leaders like myself reject the notion that terrorists like isil represent islam.

muslim leaders need to do more than discredit the notion detonations are determined to suppress islam. there is an inherent clash in civilizations. no matter what the grievance doesn't -- it damages islam and muslims. [applause] when all of us together are doing our part to reject a narrative of violent extremists when all of us are doing our part to be very clear about the fact that there are certain universal precepts and values that need to be respected, in this interconnected world, that is the beginning of a

partnership. as we go forward we need to find new ways to amplify the voice of peace and tolerance and inclusion and we especially need to do its online. we need to lift of the voices of those who know the hypocrisy of groups like isil firsthand including former extremists. the words speak to us today. i know in some of the discussions these voices have been raised. i witnessed horrible crimes committed by isis. it is not a revolution or jihad. was a slaughter. i was shocked. this isn't what we came for, to kill other muslims. i am 28. is this the only future i am able to imagine? that is the voice of so many who

were temporarily radicalized and then saw the truth and they have warned other young people not to make the same mistakes that they did. do not run after aleutians, do not be deceived, do not give up your life for nothing. in need to lift up those voices. in all this work the greatest resources are communities themselves especially like those young people who are here today. we are joined by talented young men and women who are pioneering innovations and new social media tools and new ways to reach young people. we are joined by leaders from the private sector including high-tech companies who want to support your efforts and i want to challenge all of us to build new partnerships that unleashed the talent and creativity of young people young muslims and not just to expose the lies of

extremists but empower you to service, to lift the people's lives in america and around the world and that can be a calling for your generation. that is the first challenge. we have got to discredit these ideologies. we have to tackle them head on. we can't shy away from these discussions. too often, folks are understandably sensitive about addressing some of these routes issues but we have to talk about them honestly and clearly. [applause] and for reasons i believe we have to do so is because i am so confident that when the truth is out we will be successful. the second challenge is we do have to address the grievances terrorists exploit including

economic grievances. poverty all loan does not cause a person to become a terrorist. any more than poverty alone causes somebody to become a criminal. millions of people in the world live in abject poverty and are focused on what they can do to build up their own lives and never embrace violent ideologies. conversely there are terrorists who come from extraordinarily wealthy backgrounds like osama bin laden. what is truth is when millions of people, especially youth are impoverished with no hope for the future, when corruption in fix daily humiliation on people, when there are no outlets by which people can express their concerns resentment festers. the risk of instability and

extremism grow. young people have no education. they are more vulnerable to conspiracy furies and radical ideas because it is not tested against anything else. .. >> then the international community has to offer something better. and the united states intends to

do its part. we will keep promoting development and both that is broadly shared so many people can provide for their families, we'll keep leading a global effort against corruption, because the culture of the bribe has to be replaced by good governance that doesn't favor certain groups over others. countries have toñi truly investigation in the education and skills and job training that our extraordinary young people need. by the way, that's boys and girls, men and women. because countries will not be truly successful if half their populations, if their girls and their women, are denied opportunity. [applause] and america will continue to forge new partnerships and entrepreneurship and innovation in science and technology. so young people from morocco to malaysia can start new businesses and create more prosperity. and just as we address economic

grievances, we need to face a third challenge, and that's addressing the political grievances that are exploited by terrorists. when governments oppress their people, deny human rights, stifle dissentñi or marginalize ethnic and religious groups or favor certain religious groups over others, it sows the seeds of extremism and violence. it makes those communities more vulnerable to recruitment. terrorist groups claim that change can only come through violence. and if peaceful change is impossible, that plays into extremist propaganda. so the essential ingredient to real and lasting stability and progress is not less democracy it's more democracy. it's institutions. [applause] it's institutions that uphold the rule of law and apply justice equally. it's security forces and police that respect human rights and

treat people with dignity. it's free speech and strong civil societies where people can organize and assemble and advocate for peaceful change. it's freedom of religion where all people can practice their faith without fear and intimidation. [applause] all of this is part of countering violent extremism. fourth, we have to recognize that our best partners in all these efforts the best people to help protect individuals from falling victim to extremist ideologies are their own communities, their own family members. we have to be honest with ourselves. terrorist groups like al-qaeda and isil deliberately target their propaganda in the hopes of reaching and brainwashing young muslims. especially those who may be disillusioned or wrestling with their identity. that's the truth. the high quality videos the

online magazines the use of social media, terrorist twitter accounts it's all designed to target today's young people online in cyberspace. and by the way, the older people here -- as wise and respected as you may be -- your stuff is often boring. [laughter] compared to what they're doing. [applause] you're not, you're not connected. and as a consequence, you are not connecting. so these terrorists are a threat, first and foremost, to the communities that they target which means communities have to take the lead in protecting themselves and that is true here in america as it's true anywhere else. when someone gets -- starts getting radicalized family and friends are often the first to to see that something's changed in their pertsalty. -- personality.

teachers may notice a student withdrawing or struggling with his or her identity. and if they intervene at that moment and offer support that may make a difference. faith leaders may begin to notice someone's espousing violent interpretations of religion, and that's a moment for possible intervention that allows them to think about their actions. and reflect on the meaning of their faith in a way that's more consistent with peace and justice. families and friends, coworkers neighbors, faith leaders, they want to reach out. they want to help save their loved ones and friends and prevent them from taking a wrong turn. but communities don't always know the signs to look for or have the tools to intervene or know what works best. and that's where government can play a role if government is serving as a trusted partner.

and that's where we also need to be honest. i know some muslim-americans have concerns about working with government particularly law enforcement, and their reluctance is rooted in the objection to certain practices where muslim-americans feel they've been unfairly targeted. so in our work, we have to make sure that abuses stop, are not repeated, that we do not still matize -- stigmatize entire communities. nobody should be profiled or put under a cloud of suspicion simply because of their faith. [applause] engagement with communities can't be a cover for surveillance. we can't securitize our relationship with muslim-americans. [applause] dealing with them solely through the prism of law enforcement. because when we do, that only reinforces suspicions makes it

harder for us to build the trust that we need to work together. as part of this summit, we're announcing that we're going to increase our outreach to communities, including muslim-americans, and we're going to step up our efforts to engage with partners and raise awareness so more communities understand how to protect their loved ones from becoming radicalized. we've got to devote more resources to these efforts. [applause] and as government does more communities are going to have to step up as well. we need the build on the pilot programs that have been discussed at this summit already in los angeles and minneapolis and boston. these are partnerships that bring people together in a spirit of mutual respect and create more dialogue and more trust and more cooperation. if we're going to solve these issues, then the people who are most targeted and potentially

most affected, muslim-americans, have to have a seat at the table where they can help shape and strengthen these partnerships so we're all working together to help communities stay safe and strong and resilient. [applause] and finally, we need to do what extremists and terrorists hope we will not do and that is stay true to the values that define us as free and diverse societies. if extremists are peddling the notion that western countries are hostile to muslims then we need to show that we welcome people of all faiths. here in america islam has been woven into the fab rubbing of our country -- fab rubbing of our country -- fabric of our country since its founding. generations. [applause] generations of muslim immigrants came here and went to work as farmers and merchants and factory workers helped to lay

railroads and build up america. the first islamic center in new york city was founded in the 1890s. america's first mosque -- this was an interesting fact -- was in north dakota. [laughter] muslim-americans protect our communities as police officers and firefighters and first respond ors and protect our -- responders and protect our nation by serving in uniform and in our intention communities and in homeland security. and in cemeteries across our country, including at arlington muslim-american heroes rest in peace having given their lives in defense of all of us. [applause] and, of course, that's the story extremists and terrorists don't want the world to know. muslims succeeding and thriving in america because when that truth is known it exposes their

propaganda as the lie that it is. it's also a story that every american must never forget, because it reminds us all that hatred and bigotry and prejudice have no place in our country. it's not just counterproductive it doesn't just aid terrorists, it's wrong. it's contrary to who we are. i'm thinking of a little girl named sabrina who last month sent me a valentine's day card in the shape of a heart. it was the first valentine i got. [laughter] i got, got it from sabrina before malia and sasha. [laughter] and michelle gave me one. [laughter] so she's 11 years old, she's in

the fifth grade. she's a young muslim-american and she said in her valentine, "i enjoy being an american." and when she grows up, she wants to be an engineer or a basketball player. [laughter] which are good choices. [laughter] but she wrote, "i am worried about people hating muslims." if some muslims do bad things that doesn't mean all of them do. and she asked, "please tell american that we are good people, and we're just like everyone else." [applause] now, those are the words and the wisdom of a little girl growing up here in america just like my daughters are growing up here in america. we're just like everybody else. and everybody needs to remember that during the course of this

debate. as we move forward with these challenges. we all have responsibilities. we all have hard work ahead of us on this issue. we can't paper over problems and we're not going to solve this if we're always just trying to be politically correct. but we do have to remember that 11-year-old girl. that's our hope. that's our future. that's how we discredit violent ideologies but making sure her voice is lifted up. making sure she's nurtured. making sure that she's supported. and then recognizing there are little girls and boys like that all around the world.

and us helping to address economic and political grievances that can be exploited by extremists and empowering local communities and us staying true to our values as a diverse and tolerant society even when we're threatened especially when we're threaten ped. there will be a military component to this. there are savage cruelties going on out there that have to be stopped. isil is killing muslims at a rate that is many multiples the rate that they're killing nonmuslims. everybody has a stake in stopping them, and there will be an element of us just stopping them in their tracks with force. but to eliminate the soil out of

which they grew, to the make sure that -- to make sure that we are giving a brighter future to everyone and a lasting sense of security then we're going to have to make it clear to all of our children including that little girl in fifth grade that you have a place. you have a place here in america. you have a place in those countries where you live. you have a future. ultimately, those are the antidotes to violent extremism, and that's work that we're going to have to do together. it will take time. this is a generational challenge. but after 238 years, it should be obvious america's overcome much bigger challenges. and we'll overcome the ones that we face today. we will stay united and committed to the ideals that have shaped us for more than two centuries, including the opportunity of justice and

dignity in every single human being. thank you very much, everybody. [applause] non-muslims. [applause] [inaudible conversations] >> the c-span cities tour takes booktv and american history tv on the road traveling to u.s. cities to learn about their history and literary life. this weekend we've partnered with time warner cable for a visit to greensboro, north carolina. >> and after months and months of cleaning the house, charles halpern -- who had been given that task -- was making one more walk-through.

and in the attic he looked over and he saw an envelope with kind of a green seal and walked over and noticed the date was an 1832 document. he removed a single nail from a panel in an upstairs attic room and discovered a trunk and books and portraits stuffed up under the eves, and this was this treasure of -- eaves and this was this treasure of dolley madison's things. we've displayed different items from time to time, but trying to include her life story from her birth in gilford county to her death in 1849. some of the items we have on display, a calling card case that has a card enclosed with dolley's signature as well as that of her niece anna. some small cut glass perfume

bottles and a pair of silk slippers that have tiny little ribbons that tie across the arch of her foot. and the two dresses are the reproductions of a silk peach silk gown that she wore early in life and a red velvet gown which has intrigued both that it's lasted and is part of this collection, and there's also a legend that is now accompanies this dress. >> watch all of our events from greensboro saturday at noon eastern on c-span2's booktv and sunday afternoon at two on american history tv on c-span3. >> the white house's three-day combating terrorism summit concludes today. speakers this morning include opening remarks by secretary of state john kerry. there'll also be a panel discussion with u.n. secretary january ban ki-moon on efforts

secretary general ban ki-moon. we also discuss them to touch on developing effective strategies against isis. a little later this morning president obama will be speaking at the gathering at 10:30 eastern. you'll be able to watch it live on c-span, and the entire conference will wrap up tonight at 5:45 with remarks from attorney general eric holder and national security adviser susan rice. that will also be live on c-span. >> we ask is that all guests please take their seats and silence their mobile devices. the program will begin shortly. >> while we wait for this morning's presentations to get under way with secretary of state john kerry, we will show you remarks from homeland security secretary jeh johnson at this same conference. [applause] >> thank you, rand. good morning everybody. as i look around the room at so many familiar faces from places

as varied as boston minneapolis, mr. l.a., and i think about the weather many each of those three places -- in each of those three place, you realize it's all a matter of perspective. to some of you, it's freezing cold, to others of you it's a warm respite from where you come from. welcome, everybody. this is a terrific opportunity to get together on a timely and important issue. there are many distinguished people in the room that i see here including several members of the united states senate as well as the mayor of paris who is here. as well as state and local, federal officials from around country including our three pilot cities boston, minneapolis and l.a. this is an important topic at an important time. as i have said many times we've evolved to a new phase in thex

global terrorist threat. we therefore, must evolve to a new phase in our counterterrorism efforts. thirteen and a half years ago when we were attacked in this country on 9/11, we were attacked by core al-qaeda which sent operate operatives into our country through a relatively straightforward command and control structure. now 13 and a half years later, the global terrorist threat is more decentralized more diffuse and, frankly, more complex. there are more al-qaeda affiliates adherents, there are groups that al-qaeda has denounced. eye ill -- isil is prom innocent on the world -- prominent on the world stage these days. we seefective and slick use of the internet by terrorist

organizations, very effective, slick use of social media. when you compare where we are today with just a few years ago and the way in which bin laden used to communicate through grainy films taken on the foot of a mountainside of a long monotone and take and pair that with some of the product we see put out today in just a very short period of time we've come a long way in terrorist organizations' ability to communicate. they have the ability to reach into our communities and attempt to recruit and inspire individuals who may turn toward violence right here in the homeland. in this has to be a collective effort -- this has to be a collective earth -- effort as the vice president said yesterday. it requires not only a whole-of-government effort, but

a whole of-society effort. state and local law enforcement which is represented in this room, as well as the public and the community. the campaign "if you see something, say something," has to be more than a slogan. so i have personally made as part of my personal agenda our department's cve engagements as many of you in this room know. i've traveled not just to the pilot cities of boston, l.a. and minneapolis, but also to columbus, chicago, and i intend to do more of these. and it was through these engagement ands and these meetings that i've had the opportunity to meet many of you in this room. let me share with you just a couple of observations and some of the things that i've said in our engagements across the

country. first offirst of all -- and i'm sure many of you would agree -- when we in the federal government meet in communities, at cultural centers, city halls and so forth to engage community leaders it has to be about more than just countering extremism. we have to have a dialogue across a range of issues. my department, the department of homeland security in particular has more interactions with the public than any other department of government. and so there are a range of issues that we discuss. frankly, it's an exercise in lowering barriers, lowering suspicion and building trust. and so when we have our engagements, we have our conversations, we bring together very often the u.s. attorney in the state or the city, the

police chief the sheriff the mayors, the senators. and it's a conversation across a spectrum of issues; enforcement and administration of our immigration laws, things happening with local law enforcement, things happening at the airports, issues that individuals face at the airports, for example. for my part i've been on -- i've been in listening mode for these conversations. i've also said that we in the administration, in the government should give voice to the plight of muslims living in this country and the discrimination that they face. and so i've personally committed to speak out about the situation that very often people in the muslim community in this country face, the fact that there are 1.6 billion muslims in the world

and that the islamic faith is one about peace and brotherhood. for our part we ask something of you, of members of the community. first of all i've heard over and over again -- and this is where we have to depend upon people in the community -- that we need to develop a counternarrative. we've heard that over and over now, and we know that there are a number of those who have undertaken to do this. we need to take that to the next level, developing the counternarrative. also in our communities and the communities we engage we ask that we all have a stake. so one of the themes of this conference which fits right in with that is our communities -- >> video very briefly are some of the images of terror and much

of the rationale for our being here today. nobody wants the good to die young, and we all have an enormous obligation, enormous responsibility to find the ways to meet this scourge. this is the ministerial component of these several days here in washington. and i want to thank everybody. i know that the schedule of any minister in government today is e nor mousily challenging -- enormously challenging. so for all of you to come here and spend this much time is really a reflection of the deep commitment and concern about the challenges that we face. and at the white house yesterday, local practitioners and civil society leaders from around the world gathered to highlight the community-led efforts that can prevent terrorist recruitment and

infiltration. there's been a silly debate in the media in the last days about sort of what you have to do. you have to do everything. you have to take the people off the battlefield who are there today, but you're kind of stupid if all you do is do that ask you don't prevent more people from going to the battlefield. so we have a broad challenge here. and mostly it is to talk about facts and realities and to take those realities and put them into a real strategy that we all implement together. no one country, no one army no one group is going to be able to respond to this adequately. and we see that in the numbers of countries that are now being touched by it. so our goal today is to build on the discussions of the last two days by looking at ways both to address the most alarming threats that we face but also to get practical, to strengthen

the role of civil society. in particular women, youth and victims. and to insure that civil society has the space to be able to operate. we need to identify and amplify credible voices expanding religious and other education that promotes tolerance and peace and respect for all religions. we need to address the social, economic and political marginalization that is part of this challenge. when i was recently in a country in northern africa the foreign minister there over a good dinner told me about the challenge of a certain portion of their population where young people are just process thelytized and captured at a very young stage, paid money in some cases. and once their minds are full of this invective and this distortion they don't need to pay them anymore. but what was chilling was this

foreign minister said to me they don't have a five-year strategy, they have a 35-year strategy. and so we have to come together and say what's our strategy? how are we going to respond? our goal today is to take this chance to think broadly about how to prevent violent ideologies from taking hold and how to prevent terrorist networks such as isil or boko haram or any group of other names from linking up with aggrieved groups elsewhere and how to prevent them from thereby expanding their influence. this morning i expect that the secretary general and president obama will urge us to push ahead as far and as fast as we can to work on the -- to develop the work streams that we have already identified. and some of our efforts are going to take place in brick -- in public gatherings such as.

but i think everybody here understands that much of this work is going to be done quietly, don't fanfare in classrooms in community centers, in workplaces, in houses of worship, on urban street corners and in village markets. in the months to come we will have regional summits and i'm sure we'll have other events which will gauge the progress and measure the next steps. and in new york this fall, our leaders will come together as a group. but between now and then we must all contribute and our collaboration and our cooperation must be constant. we need to remember that our adversaries don't have to cope with distractions. they don't have a broad set of responsibilities to fulfill. they don't have the same institutional responsibilities that we do to meet the needs of our citizens. terror is their obsession.

it's what they do. and if we let them their singleness of purpose could actually wind up giving them a comparative advantage. but with the images of recent outbreaks fresh in our minds everybody here knows we simply can't let that happen. we have to match their commitment, ask we have to leave them -- and we have to leave them with no advantage at all. and this morning we will begin with a session devoted to a single word: why? why do people make what to many of us would seem to be an utterly wrong-headed choice and become the kind of terrorist that we're seeing? a question that we need to approach with humility but also with determination. because you cannot defeat what you don't understand. certainly, there is no single

answer. in our era poisonous ideas can come from almost anywhere, from parents, teacher preachers politicians, from the pretty woman on a radical web site who lures people or the man in the next cell who process thelytizes while in prison. they might frau from pictures seen -- grow from picturings seen on nightly news or repression that you don't think about much on the day of occurrence, but which come back to haunt. it could come from the desire to avenge the death of a loved one. in some cases they may come from a lost job or from a contrast between one family's empty dinner plate and fancy restaurant's lavish menu. the poison might even come from within, in the form of rebellion against anonymity, the desire to belong to a group, people who

want a moment of visibility and identity or the hunger for black and white answers to problems that are very complex in a remarkably more complicated world. we can all understand the search for meaning and doubts about authority because at one time or another most of us have been there. but it's a huge leap between personal disquiet and committing murder mayhem. so let there be no confusion or doubt what everyone's individual experience might be, there are no grounds of history religion, ideology psychology, politics or economic disadvantage or personal ambition that will ever justify the killing of chirp the kidnapping -- the killing of children the kidnapping or rape of teenage girls or the slaughter of unarmed civilians. these atrocities cannot be rationalized, they cannot be

excused, they must be opposed, and they must be stopped. [applause] whether in classrooms or houses of worship or over the internet or on tv, our message is very straightforward: to anyone who's in doubt, we can say with conviction to have no doubt there is a better way to serve god, a better way to protect loved ones, a better way to defend the community a better way to seek justice, a better way to become known a better way to live than by embracing violent extremism. in fact, there is no worse way to do in any of those things. our challenge then is not really one of martialing facts because the facts are wholly on our side. our task is to encourage the most credible leaders and spokespersons to penetrate the barrier of terrorist lies and to

do so over and over and over again. we have to support the right people saying the right things all the time. that also means that we have to be crystal clear in separating what we oppose from what we should always be eager to defend. we have to be steadfast advocates of religious freedom supporters of right to peaceful dissent, opponents of bigotry in every form and builders of opportunity for all. friends, our arms are open our minds are open to the ideas the partnership against violent extremism that we are assembling has room for anyone who is willing to respect the fundamental rights and dignity of other human beings. and so it is appropriate this morning that we will be privileged to hear from the secretary general of the united

nations, an organization whose founding purpose to encourage us all to practice tolerance and live together in peace. through its efforts at peace-building, conflict resolution, development, the u.n. has always been an invaluable contributor to the long-term battle against international terror and the global partnership that is represented here today. this effort is not something taking place outside of the u.n., this is to support the u.n. institution and to support the efforts that we have all been part of for so long. in 2006 ban ki-moon was chosen to lead the u.n. five years later he was reelected. he has been a voice of healing and reconciliation. and despite that fact that the job of secretary general is nearly impossible ban ki-moon has become known across the globe for his energy and his commitment, and it's my honor to present to you the secretary

general of the united nations, ban ki-moon. [applause] >> honorary secretary of state john kerry distinguished ministers, excellencies, ladies and gentlemen, i thank the president, barack obama, and secretary of state john kerry for convening this very important gathering on preventing violent extremism. and thank you for your leadership and strong commitment and eloquent speech and giving us a good way forward so that we can work together to defeat this violent extremism and terrorism and discuss how we can build upon what we have been doing so far.

facing this profound challenge in a matter that solves rather than multiplies the program may be the greatest test for -- [inaudible] faces in the 21st century. let there be no doubt -- [inaudible] of a new generation of terrorist groups including boko haram is a grave threat to international peace and security. these extremists are pursuing a deliberate strategy of shock and awful; beheadings, burnings and -- [inaudible] designed to polarize and terrorize and provoke and divide us. the victims are as diverse as humankind itself. but let us recognize that the vast majority of the victims are muslims across a broad arc of --

[inaudible] women and girls are subject to appalling, systematic abuse, rape kidnapping, forced marriage, sexual slavery and other unspeakable horrors. no greens can justify -- no grievance can justify such crimes. i commend member states for their determined political will to defeat terrorist groups. we must do all what we can to neutralize the threat. that means responding decisively and competently. but it also means being mindful of pitfalls. many years of our experience have proven that shortsighted

policies failing leadership and an utter disregard for human dignity and human rights have caused tremendous frustration and anger on the part of a people for whom we serve. we will never find our ways birdies carding our moral compass. we need cool heads, we need common sense, and we must never let fear rule. ladies and gentlemen, in this way i see four imperatives for our common efforts to protect people and uphold human dignity. first, preventing violent extremism demands that we get to the roots. looking for the motivation behind the extremism is a notoriously difficult exercise, yet we know that poisonous

ideologies do not emerge from thin air. oppression, corruption and injustice are greenhouses for resentment. extremist leaders cultivate the alienation and that festers. -- [inaudible] criminals, gangsters, thugs on the farthest fringes of the faith they claim to represent. yet they prey on disaffected young people without jobs or even a sense of belonging of where they were born. and they exploit social media to bolster their ranks and make fear go viral. extremists have a strategy for hate. we need a comprehensive strategy for harmony reintegration and peace. second preventing violent extremism and promoting human

rights go hand in hand. time and again we have seen that the most effective recruiting agents for extremists are the very actions taken against them. all too often counterterrorism strategies let basic elements of due process have respect for the rule of law. shaping testify in additions of terrorism are often used to criminalize the legitimate actions of opposition groups civil society organizations and human rights defenders. government should not use the fight against terrorism and extremism as a pretext against one critics. finish. [inaudible] to incite such overreactions, and we must not fall into those traps. third, preventing violent

extremism requires an all-out approach. military operations are crucial to confront real threats, but bullets are not the silver bullet. missiles may kill terrorists, but good governance kills terror itch. we must remember -- terrorism. we must remember that missiles may kill terrorists, but good governance will kill terror i feel. human rights accountable institutions the equitable delivery of services and political participation, these are among our most powerful weapons. we must also teach our children compassion diversity and empathy. education will play a decisive role in school and home alike. and winning the battle for the minds of future generations.

fourth, preventing viability ec treatmentism -- violent extremism is a global challenge. violent extremism is not a south/north or east/west issue. it is not confined to a particular region or religion. it transcends borders and is present across the world. now ingle -- no single country or organization as was said by secretary kerry can defeat terrorism and extremism on its own. all countries along with regional and international organizations as well as political,erer liberties act -- religious, academic and civil society leaders should join hands to forge a multifaceted response that respects international human rights and humanitarian laws. the united nations global

counterterrorism strategy which was adopted by the member states by consensus in 2006 provides a comprehensive framework. security council resolution 2178, adopted last september under chapter 7 of the charter at a meeting chaired by president barack obama has put further behind our collect i have efforts -- collective efforts. the united nations is working to build a capacity among governments and bridges between people. make no mistake when leaders call on communities to isolate themselves or run away extremists rejoice. i'm also concerned by antia-immigration forces -- anti-immigration forces and extremists feeding off one another in a death spiral of

intolerance. the community must pool together its collective wisdom and best practices. the united nations system stands ready to work on a comprehensive, multistakeholder plan of action to prevent violent extremism that will be presented to the full membership of the united nations general assembly later this year. excellencies ladies and gentlemen, as first such a step, such a plan i myself as secretary general and president of the general assembly of the united nations in cooperation with the u.n. alliance of civilizations plan to convene a special event in the coming months that will bring together faith leaders from all around the world to promote mutual understanding and reconciliation. we will utilize the mat form of the united nations -- the

platform of the united nations to send a powerful message of tolerance and solidarity and reconciliation. honorable secretary distinguished ministers excellencies, ladies and gentlemen, there is much pain in today's world. -- [inaudible] in schools and offices bombs claiming lives every day. it can be overwhelming. it is certainly heartbreaking. at the same time i take heart at the acts of heroism and solidarity that are so often on display at times of tests like this. i take heart when i read a muslim -- [inaudible] spiriting two patrons to safety in a perilous storm or when christians -- [inaudible] to muslims freeing carnage in

the central african republic or when thousands counterrerred bloodshed with marches of solidarity from copenhagen and -- [inaudible] that is the heart we need. our future depends on it. and i count on your strong leadership and political will to defeat terrorism and ec treatmentism. -- extremism. you can count on the united nations. i thank you very much. thank you. [applause] >> deputy secretary tony lincoln is now going to moderate this panel, and at the end of the panel, president obama will join us. let me just take note, we have our former secretary of state madeleine albright here, delighted to welcome you, thank you for being with us. so we'll go through this panel and there'll be greater period for discussion as we get into the next panels through the course of the day.

thank you. tony? >> mr. secretary, thank you very much. secretary general, thank you more your very eloquent presentation and for the critical role played by the united nations in combating violet extremism. -- violent extremism. welcome to the first session of the ministerial. the topic is understanding violent extremism today. we're going to hear from six prominent panelists to get their assessment of the threat and their experience developing effective policies and programs to counter it. we've also asked an equally distinguished group of colleagues to make brief interventions. i'll introduce each of them one by one. each panelist will speak for six minutes, and then we've asked the interveners to confine their remarks to three minutes. we have a hard stop at 10:30 and if i am unable to enforce it, it suspect the arrival of president obama will. but we kindly ask each speaker to keep his or her remarks to the allotted time. let me first call upon the african peace minister smile

charity. >> honorable secretary of state john kerry, excellency ban ki-moon, ministers ladies and gentlemen, good morning. i'm honored to take the floor on the occasion of this summit. i am grateful to the u.s. government for inviting the africa union to this event. we are proud of a strong partnership with the government in the area of counterterrorism as demonstrated among others by the support extended to the africa union mission in somalia the africa union regional task force fighting lra and other endeavors. the african continent continues to suffer from the insecurity and terror created by various terrorist and criminal groups driven by different agendas and operating at times as part of larger networks including al-qaeda and the islamic state.

the atrocities committed by boko haram and the recent beheading of innocent egyptians lead to the challenges confronting us. the african union is actively engaged in the fight against terrorism and violent extremism. over the years we have -- [inaudible] framework, we have established the center dedicated to the prevex and combat -- prevention and combating of terrorism. we have undertaken numerous capacity-building initiatives to -- [inaudible] the capacity of our member states to address the courses of terror itch. we have encouraged the development of regional processes to facilitate the exchange of intelligence among countries, the process for the psi year region is one of such processes. we will be launching a similar process for the east african union with a meeting of head of intelligence in jabuti. the commitment of the african

nation was further demonstrated by holding of a special summit dedicated to violet extremism in nairobi last september. we convened in add disa baba bringing together the african groupings relevant to the u.n. and other international agencies in order to lab rate the coordinated plan for the decision reached at the nairobi meeting. with know that -- we know to sustainably respond to the problem, we need to effectively address conditions conducive to terrorism. at this summit, at its nairobi summit, the peace and security council emphasized the need to address all conditions conducive to the spread of terrorism and violent extremism and the importance of comprehensive counterterrorism strategies empowering civil society organizations including religious leaders and women as

well as -- [inaudible] groupses and covering not only security and law enforcement but also poverty eradication, job creation and development. in this regard, allow me briefly to outline what african union is doing or planning to do to contribute to counter violet extremism. -- violent extreme itch. first, the african union will work with various stakeholders to design, develop and implement interventions that aim to address the different aspects of the problem including counter and deradicalization programs in prison and dee tension facilities -- detention facilities. in so doing we aim to rehabilitate disengaged fighters and support the integration into their communities. initiatives are underway in somalia and will be expanded to other african union member states. second we will continue to

facilitate open discussions and engagement between states authorities and civil society including religious authorities endowment organization. within the framework of the process, outreach contains open fora and consultations planned to allow communities to air their grievances and contribute actively to efforts to counter extremism ideologies. third, we are also engaging the media for it to be an active partner in conquering terrorism narratives and delegitimizing viability -- [inaudible] we are working through the african journalists for peace established by african union as part of its overall outreach efforts in the area of peace and security. fourth, we will continue to provide the platform for victims of terrorism act to contribute to the overall efforts to counter terrorism and violent

extremism. indeed, we can play a critical role in highlighting the human costs of terrorism and providing a counternarrative. last october in -- [inaudible] we organized the first african union symposium on victims of terrorism act. we are actively following up on the recommendations made on this occasion. fifth, we are planning to step up our efforts and encouraging african union member states to insure the successful implementation of their economic development and poverty elimination policies and programs n. this respect and as a follow-up to the nairobi communique, the african union commission will work with the adb, the u.n. to provide the necessary support to member states. lastly, we cannot guarantee the effectiveness and sustainability of these interventions without addressing the continued financing and sponsorship of terrorists and violent extremist

groups. in this respect, we are manning to hold a meeting -- planning to hold a meeting on the financing of viability extremist groups. in conclusion, i would like to emphasize three important additional points. first, and as stressed in nairobi, let me point out the imperative need in the fight against terrorism and violent extremism to uphold the high standards of human rights and international humanitarian law. in this respect, the commission is working closely with the african commission on human and people's rights and orr stakeholders to further support member states' efforts to promote and insure the respect of human rights and international humanitarian law while preventing and combating terror itch. second -- terrorism. second the only sustainable way to address the threats i referred to earlier is through a strong responsive institutions

at the local and national levels that deliver essential services as well as insure inclusive political processes. the rule of law and public security. this is, this is key to preventing conflicts and consolidating peace-building gains. in this respect, i'm glad to know that the june 2014 african union summit and the prc in october 2014 have endorsed the report of the high-level panel on -- [inaudible] conflicts and building peace in africa call to action and requested the commission to take the necessary follow-up steps. third, while the african union is committed to fully shouldering its share of responsibility in the fight against terrorism, we should be mindful of the fact that conditions that provide fertile ground for terrorism and violent terrorism have to be addressed

globally. let us also contribute to a more peaceful and just world, and this will go a long way in delegitimizing the terrorist narrative. i thank you all. [applause] >> thank you very much, commissioner. we'd now like to hear from the french minister of ther interior. [speaking french] >> translator: secretary kerry secretary general of the u.n., ladies and gentlemen members of parliament, i am very honored to be able to participate at this international summit. it's an occasion for me just after the terrorist attacks that suffered my country to convey to you the sol dare de-- solidarity, to convey to you our thanks for the solidarity that

you all have shown to us. i know i have to thank americans in general secretary kerry in particular for their support. we're all really touched by this threat and that's why we have to get together, and we have to confront together this terrorism and the resolutes of the security council -- resolutions of the security council force us to characterize this threat. while to fight against violent radicalization. and in spite of the many crimes that they commit the organization -- [inaudible] against isil in iraq and syria continue to recruit people in europe in particular in france. in this terrorist threat is has no precedent.

and the terrorism that we confront today is very diffuse and a little bit everywhere. and recruit people who are born and grew up among us and one day they go and get into this fanatic terrorist, the profile of terrorists and potential terrorists is very diversified now. many have access to internet and learning on internet they go abroad, and they are trained to kill when they come back to europe. is they go from -- so they go from criminality to terrorism. ..