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Intercontinental Youth Forum

iDovers come together each year at the Intercontinental Youth Forums (IYF) to strengthen networks, foster a shared sense of ownership and identity, and jointly develop strategies for preventing violent extremism (PVE). The IYFs bring together approximately 30 iDovers annually, creating a dedicated space for collaboration, peer learning, and collective problem-solving across regions and contexts.

The Intercontinental Youth Fora (IYF) provide an annual platform that brings together youth from Africa, Europe, Middle East and South & South East Asia to collaborate, share best practices, and foster creative approaches to Preventing/Countering Violent Extremism (P/CVE), drawing on the soft power of religion and inter- and intrafaith dialogue. iDovers demonstrated that youth are not simply beneficiaries of PVE programming. They are designers, innovators, and leaders charting the path forward.

Previous Forums

1st :
2017 Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

The 1st Intercontinental Youth Forum took place from 21-23 February 2017, in Addis Ababa at the African Union Commission, where 40 youth leaders in PVE were selected from a pool of over 4,000 applicants. The forum explored religious and right-wing extremism and their key root causes.

2nd:
2018 Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

The 2nd Intercontinental Youth Forum took place in October 2018. The IYF focused on the occurrence of violent extremism among youth in both Europe and Africa with emphasis on border regions and marginalised communities.

3rd:
2019 Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

The 3rd IYF (September 2019) looked at strategies to address the challenge of rehabilitating and reintegrating (R&R) foreign terrorist fighters (FTF) and other returnees in the context of PVE, drawing on international law, gender perspectives, the role of civil society organisations (CSOs) and religious approaches.

4th:
2020 Virtual Forum – iDove Hackaton

In 2020, the 4th iDove Intercontinental Youth Forum (IYF) took place virtually. This year’s forum was about the impact of COVID-19 on violent extremist trends globally, looking specifically to build capacities of participants in mental health approaches in PVE, religions and interfaith approaches in PVE, digital project management and communications.

5th:
2022 Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

The 5th Intercontinental Youth Forum was reconvened in Addis Ababa, commemorating 5 years since the pilot project’s inception. The IYF focused on two separate themes: (1) exploring the iDove initiative from onset till date and determining the future trajectory of the initiative for the next 5 years. Furthermore, the forum (2) delved into the nexus of climate change, migration and PVE through research, programmatic and on the ground perspectives.

6th:
2023 Helsinki, Finland

iDovers come together annually to build networks, acquire a sense of ownership, build a common identity and develop strategies in the field of PVE. This photo is from the iDove Intercontinental Youth Forum in Helsinki, Finland. 2023.

7th:
2024, Accra, Ghana

From November 5th to 7th, 2024, I had the pleasure of attending the iDove’s 7th Intercontinental Youth Forum.

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8th:
2025 Virtual

From 26 to 28 November 2025, young peacebuilders from across Africa, Asia, Europe, and the Middle East gathered for the 8th iDove Intercontinental Youth Forum.

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Insights

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