Pinay joins ex-UN chief’s youth initiative vs extremism

OTTAWA – For setting up libraries to promote interfaith dialogue among the youth, a 22- year- old Filipina was chosen to be part of a youth initiative led by former United Nations secretary-general Kofi Annan in a bid to counter violent extremism.

Arizza Ann Nocum, who manages the operations of Kristiyano- Islam or KRIS Peace Library, was one of 10 young leaders from different parts of the world selected to be part of the Extremely Together initiative of the Kofi Annan Foundation.

Under the initiative, youth leaders were brought together to find a solution to help tackle the dangers of violent extremism across the globe.

They are in the process of producing a toolkit that would enable other young people to help them address issues relating to violent extremism in their respective countries.

“The main purpose is really to make young people responsible when encountering violent extremism, to make it an important topic,” Nocum said on the sidelines of the 2016 One Young World summit here on Thursday.

Nocum joined the former UN secretary- general and other young leaders during a session with over 1,300 delegates to the summit being held here this week.

In his speech before the delegates, Annan urged the youth to take part in the campaign against extremism.

“There is safety in numbers. If we stand together and work together we all feel much stronger,” he said. “When you look at some of the regions where we have seen extremism take over, the people are extremely poor and sometimes these people are using violence for power.”

Annan noted how fundamentalists are exploiting religion to pursue violent political agenda.

“Violent extremism, as you all know, has become both a global and generational struggle,” he told reporters following the sessions.

“What drives people into the arms of extremism? How can we reach young people before extremists do? How can we prevent young people from becoming vulnerable in the first place? All these questions are ones all these 10 young leaders are pretty aware of,” he added.

For Nocum, all stakeholders have a role to play in addressing issues such as conflict and violent extremism.

“I believe peace starts from the ground up, not from the government or leadership down. It starts right here, so we have to feel extremely responsible,” she said.

The first KRIS Library was established by the Nocum family in Zamboanga in 2008 to use the power of books and literacy to provide interfaith understanding between children of different religions.

Nocum, whose father was a Catholic while her mother a Muslim, stressed the importance of understanding different religions and cultures as a significant step in addressing violence rooted in extremism.

“What we want to do is to have a place where young people can come together and have a space for understanding,” she said.

Since its founding, five other KRIS libraries were established in other parts of the country to promote interfaith dialogue among the youth.

The organization also awards scholarships, as well as conducts enrichment activities to teach the youth respect and unity amid diversity in religion and culture in the country.

Other young leaders chosen to be part of Extremely Together initiative include Ilwad Elham of Somalia, Bjorn Ihler of Norway, Hajer Sharief of Libya, Jonah Obajeun of Nigeria and Ndugwa Hassan of Uganda.