I attended the Strong Cities conference in Toronto from December 9 to December 11. The conference covered a broad range of topics with a heavy dose of hope mixed with some very bleak information about the state of misinformation and harm that is happening online.
One comment made by Sharon Avery from the Toronto Foundation was that disconnection is a preventable risk factor for radicalization. This means that addressing and preventing radicalization includes community building programs and infrastructure. She advocated for activating public spaces as a form of social infrastructure. Another panellist commented that barriers can contribute to social isolation which in turn makes people more vulnerable to becoming radicalized online. Through this lens, initiatives such as free transit are part of anti-hate campaigns.
There is a strong connection between gender-based violence and misogyny with extremism. In fact, it was posited that gendered violence is the pathway to extremism.
Several ideas that emerged from the conference are:
- In Chicago, they hired so-called youth-at-risk as peacekeepers to go into schools and to prevent youth vandalism in their downtown core.
- The Mayor of Savanah holds weekly online dialogues with the community in which the community contributes jointly to the safety of the space rather than relying on formal protocols.
- The City of Glasgow is a feminist city and they actively use a gendered lens in all aspects of their work. They consider women’s safety at home, on the streets, and online as part of their work.
- The Region of Durham is leading on anti-hate work and has recently created their own hate reporting program funded by the Canadian Race Relations Foundation.
To conclude, when hearing the data about the extent and trends of online radicalization, it can become easy to lose hope and feel powerless. However, a panellist commented that joy is a form of civic resilience. This means that our community celebrations such as Diwali, the downtown living room events, and the upcoming FIFA events should be considered under the umbrella of anti-hate work.
