Canada Centre for Community Engagement and Prevention of Violence funds project to combat hate

From: Public Safety Canada

News Release

September 12, 2017    
Montreal, Quebec    
Public Safety Canada

Today, Member of Parliament Marc Miller (on behalf of the Honourable Ralph Goodale, Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness) announced investment from the Community Resilience Fund to support Project SOMEONE (Social Media Education Every Day) to combat hate in Canada.

Developed by Concordia University, Project SOMEONE is an online portal with multimedia materials aimed at combating hate and building resilience to radicalization to violence. The materials are geared towards youth, community members, public policy officials and the public to encourage critical thinking and promote dialogue. This new funding will contribute to better understanding how hate speech is produced, used and viewed online, as well as develop further resources to address harmful content.

As a centre of excellence, the Canada Centre for Community Engagement and the Prevention of Violence provides national leadership, coordination and support to community groups, frontline practitioners and stakeholders in their efforts to prevent individuals from radicalizing to violence.

The Community Resilience Fund contributes to intervention programming and research that reflect local realities.

Quotes

“To retain our national character as an open, diverse, inclusive and generous society – and one that is also safe and secure – we need to become among the best in the world at understanding and dealing effectively with all types of radicalization that lead to violence. The Canada Centre for Community Engagement and Prevention of Violence is helping us do as much as humanly possible to prevent radicalization to violence before tragedy strikes. I’m proud to support this locally-developed initiative to build resources for effective prevention in Canada. ”

- The Honourable Ralph Goodale, Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness

“This funding ensures our continued partnership with key national and international stakeholders - including community leaders, social service organisations, teaching professionals and policy makers – in creating public engagement activities to promote pluralistic dialogues about the impact of hate speech, discrimination and radicalization on our society.”

- Dr. Vivek Venkatesh, Associate Professor of Education, Concordia University

Quick Facts

  • Project SOMEONE is the recipient of a directed call for proposals from the Community Resilience Fund.

  • The funding awarded to Concordia University is $366,920.73 over two years.

  • The Community Resilience Fund (CRF) has $2.4 million in funds for existing and new projects in 2017-2018.  A call for proposals is open now and will close October 1, 2017.

  • The CRF will have $4.4 million available to fund existing and new projects in 2018-19. For 2019-20 and beyond, the CRF will have $7 million available each year for existing and new projects.

Associated Links

Contacts

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For more information, please visit the website www.publicsafety.gc.ca.

Scott Bardsley
Office of the Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness
613-998-5681

Media Relations
Public Safety Canada
613-991-0657
media@ps-sp.gc.ca

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