At the 2025 Canadian Centre for Safer Communities conference, held in Halifax, CSLP members Dr. Zeina Ismail-Allouche and Dr. Ghayda Hassan (Director, CPN-PREV) contributed to powerful sessions highlighting dignity-based, community-driven prevention approaches.
As part of the panel “Collaboration and Multi-Sectoral Approaches in Preventing Hate, Polarization, and Violent Extremism,” Dr. Ismail-Allouche shared insights from her extensive work in the Canadian Practitioners Network for the Prevention of Extremist Violence (CPN-PREV) and her ongoing collaborations with municipal and community partners across the country.
Alongside this, she and Dr. Hassan co-organized and facilitated a special Youth Voices for Safer Communities workshop, presented in collaboration with the Halifax Regional Municipality and local organizations. Rooted in a dignity-based prevention model, the workshop created a participatory space for youth to explore what safety means in their everyday lives—where they feel safe, where they do not, and how they reimagine community well-being.
Over two days, youth participants engaged in creative exercises, dialogue circles, and collaborative mapping that brought to light both systemic barriers and the conditions that nurture belonging, care, and respect.
Reflecting on the experience, Dr. Ismail-Allouche emphasized the importance of “listening deeply with mind, heart, and soul,” while Dr. Hassan underscored that building safer communities begins by centring youth voices and fostering shared accountability.
The CSLP congratulates Zeina and Ghayda on their contributions to this inspiring national gathering dedicated to creating safer, more inclusive communities across Canada.