White House to Hold Summit in February on Countering Extremism

Richard Gunion/iStock/Thinkstock(WASHINGTON) — The White House plans to hold a summit next month focused on countering violent extremism.

The summit on Feb. 18 will highlight efforts to prevent violent extremists and their supporters from radicalizing, recruiting, or inspiring individuals or groups in the United States and abroad to commit acts of violence.

Those efforts on the domestic and international fronts have become even greater in light of recent attacks in Ottawa, Sydney, and Paris.

The White House included few details in its announcement on Sunday, but said the summit “will include representatives from a number of partner nations, focusing on the themes of community engagement, religious leader engagement, and the role of the private sector and tech community,” the White House said.

The February summit is expected to build on the strategy the White House released in August 2011, Empowering Local Partners to Prevent Violent Extremism in the United States, which focused on preventing violent extremism in the US.

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