As technological advancement rapidly transforms our societies, the intersection between technology and violent extremism presents a perplexing challenge: not only have extremists long been exploiting technology to recruit members, disseminate narratives and create platforms, but in many cases have been manipulating online platforms more effectively than governments and civil society alike.

In Pakistan this poses a particular problem, as extremist networks are known to operate freely with little hindrance to their activities; there are few coordinated efforts actively working to counter such trends.

As daunting as this picture is, however, it also offers a valuable opportunity. With the ability to harness the benefits of technology, encourage community participation and work across sectors, we have the chance to formulate fresh responses to the problems we face.

That’s where our Peace Accelerator comes in.

Accelerators help turn great ideas into real, workable plans. This program will focus specifically on developing and scaling projects, campaigns, products and services that aim to counter extremism in a variety of ways.

Here’s the plan:

Twenty early stage peace activists, entrepreneurs and CBOs have been identified and enrolled into a 2 month program, where they are receiving mentoring from supporting social innovators.

As participants in the program they have access to

• An online and offline repository of knowledge related to extremism and how to counter it
• A co-working space where social innovators join a community of like-minded professionals committed to applying, growing and cross-pollinating their ideas
• Seed funding of up to 2,000,000 PKR (20,000 USD) for innovators selected in the program
• Regular mentoring sessions by experts in peace-building, entrepreneurship, marketing, technology, resource management and social activism
• A multimedia studio with equipment to generate marketing and campaigning material for projects of the Peace Accelerator program
• A community area for innovators to gather, connect and hold events
• Existing networks of Pakistan Youth Alliance and Khudi Pakistan in order to facilitate market penetration
• Possibility of scaling up projects through regular interaction with think tanks, corporate companies, law enforcement agencies, donor agencies, private investors and NGOs

Peace Accelerator duration: 15th May – 15th July, 2015