The International Dialogue Centre (KAICIID) will urge global policymakers and high-level experts to use interreligious dialogue for peacebuilding at the “MADRID +10: The Policy Dialogue on Preventing and Countering Violent Extremism”, taking place in Madrid from 27 to 28 October 2015.

On 27 October, KAICIID Secretary General, Faisal Bin Muaammar, will participate in a panel that will discuss new approaches to preventing violent extremism. The Centre will also host two workshops on building peace through interreligious dialogue. Through both activities, and the participation of the Centre’s experts on the working groups on “Faith and Values” and “Politics and Identity”, KAICIID will contribute to the Global Consensus, an authoritative policy recommendation and the conference’s chief outcome. The Global Consensus serves as a globally applicable policy on how best to respond to the pressing challenge of extremism and violence in the name of religion.

“The problem of violent extremism is understandably a focus of media attention. However, we don’t often see in the news how intercultural and interreligious dialogue are powerful tools for achieving stability and peace, fighting intolerance and extremism while upholding values of peaceful coexistence and mutual understanding”, the KAICIID SG said. 

“As the only intergovernmental organisation dedicated to promoting interreligious dialogue and the only intergovernmental organisation governed by religious representatives, we are participating in this Policy Dialogue to draw attention on the importance of bringing together politics and religion to build sustainable peace”, he added.

The two-day meeting is being organised by the Club de Madrid and the International Centre for the Study of Radicalisation (ICSR) at King’s College London, with the support of KAICIID, the European Commission, the US Department of State and the Spanish Ministry of Foreign Affairs, among other partners.

The Policy Dialogue will convene more than 250 high level experts, including King Felipe VI of Spain; the UN Secretary General, Ban Ki-moon; the current Prime Minister of Tunisia, Habid Essid; two ministers from the Government of Spain, José García Margallo (Foreign Affairs) and Jorge Fernández Díaz (Interior); the Mayor of Madrid, Manuela Carmena; and 40 Club de Madrid Members, former Presidents and Prime Ministers from around the world. It will be one of the most important gatherings ever on the fight against extremism and radicalisation.

The Centre’s workshops will focus on the experiences of the Central African Republic, Syria and Iraq, with the participation of religious leaders and policymakers from these regions. KAICIID Deputy Secretary General for External Affairs, Amb. Alvaro Albacete, and the Senior Adviser, Prof. Mohammed Abu-Nimer, will lead the Centre’s workshops.

Other workshops will discuss the importance of Women, organized by Hedayah; Education, organized by the Anna Lindh Foundation, and online radicalization, organized by ICSR and TRENDS.

Following its presentation at the conference, the Global Consensus will be available in the Madrid+10 online platform where different stakeholders will be able to sign on to it. The Global Consensus will be signed by Club de Madrid Members, experts, policy makers, civil society organizations and international institutions around the world.

The 2015 Policy Dialogue will take place 10 years after the International Summit on Democracy, Terrorism and Security, convened by Club de Madrid on the first anniversary of the Madrid train attacks. That Summit brought together over 1,000 world leaders to analyse the causes of terrorism and to find sustainable answers. The Madrid Agenda - an action plan that resulted from the meeting, already stated that terrorism could not be confronted with military means alone.

A decade later, with the rise of terrorism and extremism around the world, political leaders, policy makers and opinion leaders will address the issue of violent extremism from different angles, sharing both national strategies and grassroots initiatives as well as identifying good practices, tools and policies with global and local relevance.

About Club de Madrid

The Club de Madrid is an independent non-profit organization composed of more than 100 former presidents and prime ministers from 70 democratic countries. The Club de Madrid responds to a growing demand for support to address a number of challenges in democratic governance by providing the experience and valuable leadership of its members.

About ICSR

ICSR’s mission is to bring together knowledge and leadership. Producing first class, rigorous research, our aim is to educate the public and help policymakers and practitioners find more intelligent solutions in dealing with radicalization and political violence.