Academic participates in UN meeting aiming to prevent violent extremism
Institute for Sport Business academic, Dr Holly Collison, attended a United Nations expert group meeting to discuss and develop guidance on the prevention of violent extremism through sport.
The meeting took place at the United Nations Office in Vienna on the 27-29 November 2019 and was attended by experts from around the world.
Part of the Doha Declaration, which aims to promote a culture of lawfulness, the meeting took place as part of the UNODC’s global youth crime prevention initiative that builds on the power of sports as a tool for peace.
Dr Collison was invited to the United Nations meeting as the expert UNODC consultant for her expertise on sport’s contribution to society. Her current research explores knife crime and cultures of violence and its manifestation in domestic spaces, communities and the public sphere in the UK. Holly’s research investigates how sport, in particular sport embedded within the community, could be used as an intervention for disrupting violence and reducing associated crime.
Dr Collison developed the tool being reviewed at the meeting, entitled 'Sport and the Prevention of Violent Extremism: A Comprehensive Guide for Coaches and Policymakers' and also co-chaired the meeting.
Dr Holly Collison, a Lecturer within the Institute for Sport Business. Her expertise lies in youth identity, notions of community, international development, peacebuilding, social inclusion and grassroots perspectives and experiences of Sport for Development and Peace (SPD).
Dr Collison also attended a UN meeting in New York in 2018 which explored sport’s contribution to sustainable development and society.