Led by SCI Director Dr. Erroll Southers, the USC Price School of Public Policy’s Safe Communities Institute hosted a seven-person delegation from the Central Asian country of Tajikistan to discuss strategies around countering violent extremism.
The meeting was part of the U.S. State Department’s International Visitor Leadership Program (IVLP). Since 2015, SCI has engaged officials from more than 50 nations in an effort to share research, initiatives and ideas focused on reducing extremism.
The representatives from Tajikistan included practitioners from government, law enforcement, education and media.
“This was the first delegation we hosted from Tajikistan, and their knowledge of our diverse collection of violent extremists was extraordinary,” Southers said. “They were particularly interested in our concerns regarding the possibility of recidivism of former extremists and what activities we were engaged in to reduce the risk. They shared several practices in place in their country to address this issue, and we discussed various methods to possibly measure success. This incredible program continues to provide an extraordinary opportunity to share, learn and network with experts from around the world.”
In addition, Dr. Southers will be receiving the 2018 IVCLA Outstanding Resource Award at the International Visitors Council of Los Angeles’ Citizen’s Diplomacy Celebration in May.
This article was originally published by the Price School of Public Policy.
