The Center for Woman’s Studies at the University of Baghdad, in cooperation with the Woman’s Affairs Department at the Presidency, held a symposium titled “The Role of Soft Power in Combating Violent Extremism Leading to Terrorism” on Tuesday, September 10, 2024, at Mahdi Hantoush Hall, University of Baghdad.
The symposium was attended by the Director of the Center for Woman’s Studies, Prof. Dr. Athraa Ismail Zaidan, Ms. Hanaa Emmanuel, Director General of the Woman’s Affairs Department at the Presidency, Dr. Amir Faisal Abdul Amir, Assistant President of the University of Baghdad for Administrative Affairs, and advisors from the Presidency, including Dr. Amir Al-Kanani, Ms. Berwin Muhammad Nuri Aziz, Dr. Khudair Al-Amara, and Mr. Karim Al-Tamimi, in addition to Dr. Ashraf Nizar Al-Musawi, Mr. Firas Al-Ramahi, Assistant Legal Advisor from the Presidency Ms. Afaq Hameed Hassan, Mr. Haider Karim Muhammad, Ms. Rafah Hisham Abdul Malik, Mr. Ali Sabah Salman, as well as a number of officials, influencers, civil society organizations, and those interested in woman’s issues and violence.
In a lecture delivered during the symposium, Dr. Wijdan Atheem addressed forms of extremism, methods of combating it, its types, and the importance of soft power in facing it.
The symposium concluded with several recommendations, the most important of which were:
– Engaging and empowering youth to prevent and combat violent extremism.
– Conducting strategic communications to promote alternative discourse that helps combat terrorism.
– Developing national and regional action plans related to preventing and combating violent extremism
