Lebanese youth combat radicalisation and violent extremism through cooperation

In the framework of the European cooperation project ACT, Countering Terrorism, a series of youth empowerment and peace education activities are being carried out to prevent radicalisation and violent extremism in order to build peaceful societies and stronger communities.

These activities will be carried out in collaboration with Beirut Chants El-System “On Wheels” for Justice and Human Rights, which is a pioneering project that combines the recognised benefits of teaching classical music to marginalised young people to steer them away from crime, violence and other bad practices, which can lead to radicalisation and violent extremism, with the promotion of human rights and skills development so that they can experience that they are valuable and can contribute within their communities.

The travelling orchestra and choir, consisting of more than 75 young people and 8 teachers, spread the spirit of El-Sistema and its powerful mantra of “Music for Social Change” in order to promote human opportunities and youth development in marginalised communities in the periphery by holding concerts in towns and cities all over Lebanon, thus preventing youth from getting involved in potential radicalisation and violent extremism.

The activities, which will be organised by the European ACT project, will focus on introducing the El-Sistema method in each locality by inviting local talents, as well as the community at large, to participate in the sessions and the concert and to showcase their areas by offering visits to local attractions.

In addition, the concerts will be complemented by information sessions on Human Rights and Justice that will address the necessary components for effective “social change” and raise awareness on relevant issues such as citizenship rights, youth exploitation, predatory practices on the Internet, digital crime, cyber-bullying, disinformation techniques, emotional manipulation, drug awareness, among others, all issues that can lead to radicalisation and violent extremism.

The first event of this collaboration took place at St. Vartanants Church, which is located in one of the most demographically diverse areas of Lebanon. The activity consisted of a 90-minute concert with more than 75 young musicians from the Beirut Chants El-Sistema Children’s Choir and Orchestra with the participation of the Gargatch Choir of the Hamazkayin Cultural Association.

The more than 350 attendees were able to access a comprehensive and informative presentation on children’s rights, the dangers of the Internet, cybersecurity and cybercrime distributed via a QR code and available on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q7xyyc7PoLQ

The event was attended by His Eminence Archbishop Shahe Panossian, Primate of the Armenian Orthodox Church in Lebanon, representatives of the Hamazkayin Armenian Educational and Cultural Society and other relevant members of the local community, as well as family and friends of the young musicians, among others.

It is important to note that this initiative is supported by the Lebanese government, within the framework of the European ACT project, and will be sustained in the future thanks to the government’s commitment.