This quarter we spotlight one of Prospect’s flagship Preventing/Countering Violent Extremism and Terrorism initiatives -the Bridges to Peace Project. Implemented in partnership with Kofi Annan Foundation and with support from the European Union, the project was a crisis response to the surge in terror attacks experienced by Uganda since 2021. The multi-faceted action benefited over 1,571,256 people and stakeholders including Community Influencers, Journalists, Victims of terrorism, grassroots NGOs and CBOs, Local government leaders, Security actors, Salafi women leaders, Salafi youth leaders, Ex-combatants, and general public through;

• Broadening community awareness, vigilance and preparedness against violent extremism in hotspot districts and cities;

• Strengthening the capacity of at-risk individuals and communities to resist violent extremist narratives and recruitment;

• Enhancing the interest and self-efficacy of CSOs to design and implement effective P/CVE interventions in violent extremist hotspots;

• Strengthening the country’s capacity to reintegrate returning combatants.

It directly contributed to 6 of the 13 pillars of Uganda’s Strategy and Action plan for Preventing/Countering Violent Extremism and Terrorism namely: Priority Area 2 on Engaging Communities; Priority Area 3 on Dialogue and Conflict Prevention; Priority Area 4 focused on Strengthening good governance, human rights, and the rule of law; Priority area 6 on Gender equality and empowerment of Women; Priority area 8 on Strategic communication; and Priority area 11 on response to violent extremism and terrorism. Its overall goal was to contribute to reducing incidents of violent extremism and support for such acts in Uganda.