Number 239 | September 27, 2013
At the 4th Ministerial meeting of the Global Counterterrorism Forum (GCTF) in New York on 27 September, GCTF Co-Chairs, Turkey and the United States, announced that a core group of government and non-government partners from different regions plan to establish the first-ever public-private global fund to support local efforts to counter violent extremism.
Formally called the Global Fund for Community Engagement and Resilience, it is anticipated that the fund will raise more than $200 million over the next ten years. In addition to the United States, Turkey and the European Union, other likely donors to the fund include Canada, Qatar, Denmark and Britain as well as non-governmental sources. Grants from the fund would provide vocational training to youth at risk of being recruited by terrorist organizations; new school curriculums that focus on tolerance and problem solving; as well as web based platforms and social networks that will aim to expose the dangers of violent extremist ideologies.
The Global Fund will maintain a loose affiliation with the GCTF- an organization of 29 countries and the European Union created two years ago with the State Department's support to act as a clearinghouse of ideas and actions for civilian counterterrorism specialists. Expected to become operational by the middle of 2014, the fund will operate out of Geneva.
