MISSION STATEMENT
Defeating Global Terrorism
Although we live in dangerous times, rife with both international and domestic terrorism, there is hope and there is a clear path towards peace – that road is education and Rise to Peace helps to build that path one person at a time.
Rise to Peace believes that the root cause of extremist violence is the recruitment of vulnerable youth with hateful propaganda and misinformation as to why the “way of the gun” is the only option to succeed and find a meaningful life. Rise to Peace counteracts this propaganda with the “way of the word” as to why education and understanding other cultures, values, and religions is the only true path towards a peaceful and fulfilling life. Rise to Peace seeks to achieve this mission through efforts on the following unique educational fronts.
The Rise to Peace Quarterly Expert Symposium
The Rise to Peace Quarterly Expert Symposium gathers renowned experts from various fields (academia, humanitarian organizations, law enforcement, the military, diplomats and foreign service officers) to explore the genesis of global radicalization and how to counter the rise of violent extremist ideology. Each symposium is sponsored by a university and held at different locations across the United States.
Community Youth Mentoring Teams
Rise to Peace trains and places various youth mentoring teams, which include social workers and college undergraduate and graduate volunteers, throughout various cities with at-risk communities. As part of this initiative, Rise to Peace Youth Mentoring Teams meets with youth at schools and community centers to promote the role of democratic institutions and global education and the evils of extremism and violence.
The Rise to Peace Terrorism Database & Research Library
Rise to Peace, through its network of skilled undergraduate and graduate student interns and volunteers conduct organic analytical research on the origins and proliferation of radicalization and extremism throughout the world. This research is posted on Rise to Peace’s website and social media platforms to track in real-time various terrorist events around the globe. Rise to Peace also posts numerous analytical discussion papers related to extremism, all with the goal of thwarting the proliferation of “electronic-hatred” posted by numerous terrorist groups with a candid and honest discussion of the origins of terrorism and solutions to end violence.
The Rise to Peace Interview Project
The foundation of Rise to Peace’s educational initiative is the Interview Project, in which Rise to Peace personally interviews persons who formerly embraced extremist ideology and became misguided foot soldiers for groups such as the Taliban, al-Shabaab and ISIS. Rise to Peace travels around the globe to conduct these interviews to understand and examine how these people, most of whom were very young, were recruited and radicalized, and what eventually enabled them to break the chains of extremism.
Rise to Peace believes this unique, multi-disciplined approach to extremism and violence will have a positive impact upon the youth by examining how they fall prey to hateful ideology and what steps they can take to minimize and eradicate the influence of this hateful ideology and propaganda from their lives.