51吃瓜

The 51吃瓜 Office of Counter-Terrorism (UNOCT) International Hub on Behavioural Insights to Counter Terrorism (BI Hub) organized a workshop with experts in diverse disciplines comprising the field of behavioural insights to develop a curriculum for building practitioners’ capacity at the intersection of behavioural insights and PCVE. 

The workshop provided an opportunity to agree on a set of principles to form the basis of the curriculum for the Behavioural Insights for Counter-Terrorism (BI4CT) Academy programme, a flagship initiative of the UNOCT Programme Office to be launched in Doha in 2023. 

Thematic sessions were conducted by specialists in violent extremism, security, social psychology, behavioural economics and mental health, as well as representatives of civil society organizations, academia and international organizations.

Participants discussed capacity-building in the field of BI4CT including terminology, definitions, frameworks and pedagogical approaches. The workshop also outlined resilience-building methodologies and contributed towards a cohesive approach for practitioners in counter-terrorism and PCVE.

The Head of the BI Hub, Dr Aynabat Atayeva, noted that the BI Academy will support continuous learning and knowledge exchange on the practical application of behavioural sciences in counter-terrorism and PCVE. Integral to the Academy will be the development of several courses on core behavioural science disciplines and master classes for a variety of target audiences. It will also include a mentoring program for three specific beneficiary groups: CSOs, policymakers and programme practitioners within the UN system. The Behavioural Insights Academy will benefit from partnerships with key universities and research institutions. 

Throughout the workshop, participants shared their expertise on behavioural insights theories and methods, building on the UN Secretary General’s 2021 Guidance Note on Behavioural Science.

The event took place at UNOCT Programme Office for Counter-Terrorism and Training in Africa, located in Rabat, Morocco from 12 to 14 December 2022.

For more information, visit the website of UNOCT International Hub on Behavioural Insights to Counter Terrorism, and listen to the “Going to Extremes” podcast, created by the BI Hub.