Reinforcing Capacity to Prevent Violent Extremism Among Professional Associations of Canada
As part of its commitment to building capacity to prevent violent extremism (PVE), the Canadian Practitioners Network for the Prevention of Violent Extremism (CPN-PREV, UQAM) offered a three-day Train-the-Trainer workshop to representatives of professional associations working across the country. The workshop took place from September 14 to 16, 2026 at Concordia University’s Centre for the Study of Learning and Performance (CSLP) in Tiohtià:ke (Montreal).
The Train-the-Trainer workshop followed a process designed by Zeina Ismail-Allouche (CPN-PREV) to create the conditions for the collective co-creation of the training module. Informed by Indigenous ways of knowing and learning, the process centered positionality, relationality, and learning through storytelling as practices that shaped how participants engaged with one another and built knowledge together. Through this process, participants moved across three interconnected areas: developing a shared grounding in the PVE landscape, collectively mapping existing needs and gaps, and drawing on their diverse experiences and sector-specific knowledge to co-create the foundations and outline of training content responsive to those needs.
The training is the culmination of a series of encounters and reflections that first started in 2024 during the Canada Center for Community Engagement and Prevention of Violence Megaweek. That first encounter between CPN-PREV and several Canada-based professional associations evolved into a dedicated consultation during the Megaweek of the following year, which subsequently informed the collaborative design of training content in early 2026.
The Train-the-Trainer workshop gathered close to 20 people representing various professional associations, sectors, and expertise. These include:
The Mental health commission of Canada
The Canadian School Board Association
The Alberta School Board Association
The Nova Scotia College of Social Workers
The Canadian Federation of Library Associations
The Canadian Urban Libraries Council
Sickkids
Halifax Public Libraries
Burlington Public Library
The Canadian Psychological Association
The Students Commission of Canada
Humane Canada
Montreal SPCA
The Canadian Association of Social Workers
CPN-PREV is grateful for the trust, openness, and commitment to taking action displayed by all participants. CPN-PREV also thanks all the presenters who intervened over the course of the workshop:
Christa Romaldi (The Students Commission of Canada)
Christian Savard (Équipe Polarisation)
Christiane Ndedi Essombe (CPN-PREV)
Emma Cognet (The Students Commission of Canada)
Evelise Carvalho (CPN-PREV)
Matthew Desjardins (RCMP)
Ghayda Hassan (CPN-PREV)
Tyler Colbourne (NSCSW)
Zeina Ismail-Allouche (CPN-PREV)