Agenda

Registration

Keynote address

Baroness Williams of Trafford, Minister of State for Countering Extremism, UK

Moderator:

Samir Saran, President, ORF

Panel 1 - Eye of the Storm: Experiences from the Field

Benedetta Berti, Head, Policy Planning, Office of the Secretary General, NATO, Belgium

Arian Sharifi, Director of National Threat Assessment, Office of National Security Council, Afghanistan

Richard Priem, Associate Political Affairs Officer, UN Counter Terrorism Executive Directorate

Hilde Deman, Country Director, Search for Common Ground, Tunisia

Moderator:

Ali Khan Mahmudabad, Assistant Professor, Ashoka University, India

While insurgencies and terror have threatened the world on an unprecedented scale over the last few decades, the new challenge is developing a sustainable model of peace. This panel will examine the situation from the MENA to AFPAK, with emphasis on the responses to terror and violent extremism thus far.

Panel 2 - Gendering the Agenda: Women in CVE Discourse

Mariam Safi, Founding Director, DROPS, Afghanistan

Archana Kapoor, Founder, Seeking Modern Applications for Real Transformation- SMART, India

Edit Schlaffer, Founder, Women Without Borders, Austria

Nishtha Satyam, Deputy Country Representative, UN Women India

Moderator:

Philippa Chancellor-Weale, CVE Advisor, UK Foreign & Commonwealth Office

The Women, Peace and Security agenda has thrown the role of women in CVE into sharp relief. While also exploring these roles, this panel aims to deliberate upon the ways in which gender is operationalized in both violent extremism and initiatives that aim to counter it

Panel 3 - Creative Voices and Expressions: The new CVE?

Priyank Mathur, CEO, Mythos Labs

Ashhar Farhan, Co-Founder, Lamakaan- the Open Cultural Center

Waheed Para, Youth President, J&K PDP

Rana Safvi, Founder & Moderator, #shair

Moderator:

Abhinandan Sehkri, Co-Founder & CEO, Newslaundry

This panel will examine the role of sports, arts and cultural programmes in addressing violent extremism by locating the spaces for prevention, countermeasures and deradicalisation through these avenues.

Panel 4 - (In)Security Challenges: South Asia

Jehan Perera, Executive Director, National Peace Council of Sri Lanka

Lt. Gen. (retd.) Syed Ata Hasnain, Defence Analyst, India

Maj Gen (retd.) Abdur Rashid, Executive Director, Institute of Conflict, Law & Development Studies, Bangladesh

Mohamed Hameed, Deputy Chair, Board, Maldivian Democracy Network

Moderator:

Kabir Taneja, Associate Fellow, ORF

In the tinderbox that is South Asia, confronting competing narratives is a sensitive challenge. While physical territory in the hands of insurgent groups is pressing, the stage of violent extremism is growing far more dynamic. This panel will attempt to address the specific needs of South Asia when considering the growing threats from both internal and external sources.

Panel 5 - Syncretic Societies: The Indian Experience

Shazia Ilmi, Vice President, BJP Delhi, Bhartiya Janata Party India

Akhtarul Wasey, President, Maulana Azad University, Jodhpur

Rasheed Kidwai,  Visiting Fellow, ORF

Ambassador Pavan K. Varma, Former Member of Parliament-Rajya Sabha; National General Secretary and National Spokesman of the Janata Dal (United)

Moderator:

Maya Mirchandani, Senior Fellow, ORF

India’s syncretism is a testament to its diversity and varied traditions make for a uniquely Indian experience of socio-cultural phenomena. This panel will attempt to explore the role of syncretism in challenging global narratives of violent extremism.

New Frontiers: The Indian experience with countering online radicalisation

Shiv Sahai, Senior Joint Secretary, National Security Council Secretariat

in conversation with 

Sushant Sareen, Senior Fellow, ORF

Panel 1 – New Theatres of Conflict: The Indo-Pacific and CVE

Greg Barton, Research Professor in Global Islamic Politics in the Alfred Deakin Institute for Citizenship and Globalisation, Deakin University, Australia

Bonifacio Alfonso Javier III, Humanitarian Coordination & Conflict Resolution Specialist, UN FAO, Philippines

Thomas Koruth Samuel, Director of the Digital Strategic Communications Division, SEARCCT, Malaysia

Harsh V. Pant, Distinguished Fellow & Head, Strategic Studies, ORF

Moderator:

Maya Mirchandani, Senior Fellow, ORF

The Indo-Pacific region has, in recent years, become a new battleground with respect to extremist activity. This panel will look at the situation in order to assess the key takeaways for policymakers.

Panel 2 - Fourth Estate at the Frontlines

Praveen Swami, Consulting Editor, Business Standard

Waeil Awwad, Senior international correspondent & political analyst, Syrian Arab News Agency

Anand Ranganathan, Independent Journalist

Marya Shakil, Political Editor, CNN-News 18

Moderator:

Indrani Bagchi, Diplomatic Editor, Times of India

The mass media occupies a crucial role in the public imagination and its role, particularly with respect to international development, is key to devising appropriate responses to violent extremism. This panel will discuss the way in which the media can be harnessed to facilitate dialogue and widen the scope of communication to promote sustainable development.

Panel 3 - Building Blocks: Mobilising Communities against extremism

Adewale Olakunle Joel, Founder, Tender Arts Nigeria

Durga Prasad Kode, Advisor, Home Government of Andhra Pradesh, India

Ajai Sahni, Executive Director, Institute for Conflict Management, India

Christina Schori Liang, Senior Programme Advisor and Senior Fellow, Emerging Security Challenges Programme; Terrorism and Organized Crime Cluster Leader, Geneva Centre for Security Policy

Moderator:

Ed Bossley, British Foreign & Commonwealth Office

An individual’s actions are seen to be the product of both nature and nurture. This panel will examine the pivotal role played by communities in the choices made by vulnerable individuals with respect to violent extremism.

Panel 4 - Capturing Imaginations: Counter Narratives and Digital Platforms

Clark Hogan Taylor, Analyst, Moonshot CVE

Anantha Duraiappah,  Director, UNESCO Mahatma Gandhi Institute for Education & Peace

Mahima Kaul, Head, Public Policy & Government Partnerships, Twitter India

Ankhi Das, Director, Public Policy, Facebook India, South & Central Asia

Moderator:

Saikat Datta, Asia Times Online/Centre for Internet & Society

Radical groups tend to make use of the lacunae in digital platforms for recruitment. This panel addresses the pressing need to finding the balance between hate speech and freedom of expression, and to build innovative campaigns to check online extremism.

Interaction with

Raghu Raman, Former CEO, NATGRID

Moderator:

Samir Saran, President, ORF

Novel Narratives: Storytelling & Social Media

Vani Tripathi Tikoo, Member, Central Board of Film Certification

Facebook Voice Positive Finale

The conference will conclude with presentations by selected teams from colleges around India on Counter Speech on social media. The Voice Positive Challenge saw ORF engage with over 50 colleges and universities around the country to mobilise young minds and enable them to counter violent ideologies online.

Closing address

Maya Mirchandani, Senior Fellow, ORF

Concluding Dinner