A special conference with the main goal of reducing the radicalization of Calgary youth took place at the University of Calgary Tuesday.
The conference, called Extreme Dialogue, featured a unique series of films and resources using real stories to help youth challenge ideas of extremism.
It also included a talk from Christianne Boudreau, the mother of Damien Clairmont, a Calgary man who was killed fighting for ISIS in Syria.
Boudreau has been critical lately for the lack of action by various levels of government to deal with the growing threat of radicalization. She says anyone is at risk.
"There's no particular person or label that will predict who it can affect and we really need to get out there and explain it can happen to anyone in every walk of life, no matter their background," Boudreau said on Tuesday.
Activists, educators, and representatives from the RCMP and Calgary Police Service also spoke.
Calgary Police Chief Rick Hanson told CTV Morning Live that early intervention is key when fighting radicalization.
“The reality is we’ve got to get more out into the community, more involved in the schools and the issue will always be around engaging young people at the earliest time possible to identify when they don’t feel they’re fitting in and then working towards addressing their issues because this is not something that’s going to go away soon.”
Extreme Dialogue is funded by Public Safety Canada through the Kanishka Project and was developed through an international consortium.
