On November 16-17, 2016, Public Affairs Toronto sponsored and attended Midaynta Community Services’ second annual Youth Radicalization Conference at the University of Toronto’s Munk School of Global Affairs. The conference, entitled “Youth Radicalization: New & Emerging Challenges” was supported through a U.S. Mission Public Affairs grant and supported the travel of seven U.S. experts on countering violent extremism who spoke throughout different panels at the event. This grant supported representatives from Georgetown University, the Muslim Public Affairs Council, Pathways 2 Prosperity, Florida State University, Stanford University, the Somali Action Alliance Education Fund, and the Southern Poverty Law Center. The conference focused on youth radicalization, but it also spoke to the broader societal issues affecting radicalization. The conference brought together government, law enforcement, education, media, civil society and academia stakeholders from Canada, the United States, and Somalia.
