OSCE organizes train-the-trainer course for local Tajik teachers on preventing violent extremism among youth

A two-day training course on preventing violent extremism among youth was organized by the OSCE Programme Office in Dushanbe in close co-operation with UNESCO on 24 and 25 May 2018 on the premises of the OSCE Programme Office.

The train-the-trainer course brought together 17 teachers from the Khujand, Kurgan-Tyube, Kulyab, Garm, Nurobod, Tursunzoda, Shahrinav and Rudaki districts of Tajikistan. The course aimed to strengthen the role of education in building community resilience against violent extremism and terrorist radicalization, as well as empowering local teachers in taking preventive measures against violent extremism.  

“It is very important to obtain new skills in preventing violent extremism among youth,” said Zukhro Murodova, one of the trainees from Bokhtar town in the Khatlon region of Tajikistan. She highlighted that training activities, which focus on the role of education, are in high demand among local communities.

Ibrohim Jabborov, a high-school teacher from Khujand, said: “Today’s course is extremely important given the local realities.” He added that the training sessions were very useful for them, since the participants were equipped with the necessary knowledge to address these sensitive issues.

Johan Dahl, Acting Head of the OSCE Programme Office’s Politico-Military Department emphasized the importance of education and a ‘whole-of-society’ approach to tackling the phenomenon of violent extremism. “It is a gradual and very complex process that needs to be addressed in a very meticulous way, otherwise we risk fixing a problem by creating another problem.”

Upon the completion of the train-the-trainer course, the Office plans to engage the trained educators in a series of training events across the Khatlon and Sughd regions, as well as in Rasht and in other districts. The training aims to reach up to 360 local teachers and educators.

This capacity-building activity is part of the OSCE Programme Office’s project on assisting the Government of Tajikistan in implementing their National Strategy and Action Plan on Preventing Violent Extremism and Terrorism by 2020.