The U.S. Mission to the African Union and the African Union opened their joint Countering Violent Extremism Week in Addis Ababa today. The second annual meeting will feature a conference followed by a two-day capacity-building communications-focused workshop for practitioners from across Africa.

U.S. Ambassador to the African Union Mary Beth Leonard and Principal Deputy Coordinator for the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Counterterrorism Alina Romanowski delivered opening remarks along with African Union officials highlighting the strong partnership between the United States and Africa to counter terrorism and the roots of violent extremism.

The conference will focus on developments and best practices in the Lake Chad Basin and Horn of Africa. This event will build and strengthen relationships between governments and civil society organizations, and increase the capacity of CVE practitioners to challenge extremist narratives on the African continent.