iDove – Interfaith Dialogue on Violent Extremism

The rise of violent extremism has raised concerns about growing fragility, instability, and prejudice that divide communities worldwide. Violent extremism has become one of the main challenges to peaceful coexistence which pose a crucial threat to the goals and aspirations set forth in the African Union’s Agenda 2063: “The Africa We Want” and the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals set in the 2030 Agenda.

Youth and young adults often act as agents of change, supporting the social cohesion as well as resilience of their communities and helping to reduce inter-generational divides. Religious leaders, organizations and faith communities play an important role in preventing violent extremism (PVE) as they are in direct contact with their communities and can provide counter-narratives to violent extremism ideologies. Hence, the potential of youth and religious actors in PVE should be acknowledged while at the same time critical thinking and resilience against recruitment should be fostered.

The Interfaith Dialogue on Violent Extremism (iDove) is an intercontinental platform of exchange and learning for youth working on preventing violent extremism (PVE) and building social cohesion, specifically focusing on youth (age 18-35) from Africa, Europe and Asia. iDove consists of approximately 180 members from 49 countries worldwide. iDove programme empowers young people to develop innovative, youth-led, and context-specific approaches to preventing violence.

Youth and young adults often act as agents of change, supporting the social cohesion as well as resilience of their communities and helping to reduce inter-generational divides. Religious leaders, organisations and faith communities play an important role in PVE as they are in direct contact with their communities and can provide counter-narratives to violent extremist ideologies. Combining both potentials helps to create new entry points as well as a stronger and more sustainable foundation for PVE while at the same time reducing the reach of violent extremists.

The African Union Commission’s Directorate of Citizens and Diaspora Organizations (AUC-CIDO) and the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ GmbH) on behalf of the German Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) have jointly launched iDove in 2017.

iDovers come from Africa, Middle East, Asia and Europe.

iDove Approach

iDove is grounded in the understanding that preventing violent extremism requires a comprehensive soft-power approach that addresses its root causes. The programme prioritizes bottom-up, community-based, and youth-led initiatives that foster mutual understanding, trust, and cooperation across generations and among diverse ethnic, social, and religious groups.

iDovers

iDovers are young peacebuilders who lead local action, research, and dialogue to prevent violent extremism in their communities. The iDove network covers Africa, Europe, Middle East and Asia, consisting approximately 180 members from 49 countries worldwide.

iDovers take part in governing the iDove network. iDove is divided to regional groups that lead the work in their respective region and ensure the relevance of the work in different regional context.

Representatives from each region participate to the Steering Group that makes the high-level strategic and funding related decisions together with the Advisory Board. Steering Group oversees the operations of the entire iDove network. It overlooks the functioning of the regional groups and leads the annual planning and monitoring of the iDove network.

Meet the iDove Steering Group 2026

Diana Ouma

Chair, Africa

Elmahjoub Dasaa

Co-Chair, Africa

Mohammad Afzal Zarghoni

Chair, Asia

Udeshika Madhubhashani

Co-Chair, Asia

Anton Pisarenko

Chair, Europe

Joseph Hammond

Co-Chair, Europe

Ghaith Hadi

Chair, Middle East

Ali Mahmoud

Co-Chair, Middle East

iDove testimonies

Seven young activists explain the steps they are taking to strengthen social cohesion and prevent violent extremism all over the world.

Young people build peace

Our Partners

The Interfaith Dialogue on Violent Extremism (iDove) programme was jointly launched by the African Union Commission (AUC) through the Citizens and Diaspora Directorate (CIDO) and Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH, and is funded by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ).

The Network for Religious and Traditional Peacemakers supports the development and implementation of iDove network, capacity development and implementation of the iDover-led initiatives, enabling effective and sustainable youth-driven responses to preventing violence.