Honing skills to counter violent extremism
Australia offers course for officials
Australian High Commission in Dhaka held a networking event to celebrate the achievements of nearly 80 alumni who have completed courses on “Countering Violent Extremism” under the Australian Government's "Australia Awards" programme.
The government officials -- from a range of agencies including the Bangladesh police and ministries of home affairs, law and finance -- completed the course at Australia's University of Queensland.
The course provided practical skills and knowledge to deal with cyber threats, and to detect, investigate, disrupt the financing of terrorism. It also enabled scholars to analyse international legal frameworks and compliance mechanisms.
Over the last five years, Australia has supported over 200 officials from Bangladesh to strengthen their skills and knowledge to counter violent extremism and to connect them with the relevant institutions in Australia.
Speaking at the event, Australian High Commissioner Julia Niblett said, “Violent extremism is a global challenge that affects us all. Australia is pleased to provide capacity building through this course as an important element of our contribution to countering violent extremism in Bangladesh.”
Representing the Bangladesh government at the event, Monirul Islam, additional commissioner of police and chief of the Counter Terrorism and Transnational Crime Unit, thanked the Australian government for its support to build capacity of individuals and intuitions to counter terrorism in Bangladesh.
Australia has been offering university scholarships to Bangladesh since 1972. In addition to long-term scholarships, since 2015 Australia has been offering targeted scholarships for mid-senior level professionals to participate in short-term study courses to enhance professional skills.