Action & Training

We create and deliver programmes that empower everyone to engage in the fight against extremism, hate and disinformation.

Extremism, hate and disinformation are global phenomena that cannot be solved by governments alone. These threats to democracy can only be overcome in collaboration with a wide array of groups from across society.

In order to build safe, free and resilient communities, ISD designs and delivers programmes which empower frontline practitioners and foster civic action. We work with charities, practitioners, educators, governments, the private sector and young people.

Our on-the-ground activity is informed by our sector-leading data and insight, creating programmes that respond to emerging and evolving trends to have maximum impact. This includes:

Launch of the Strong Cities Network at the UN General Assembly in 2015

We work with hundreds of community organisations to drive change from the grassroots

  • Strong Cities Network

    Through the SCN, we deliver training and support in order to build the capacity of cities to respond to extremism, hate and disinformation in their communities.

  • Education programmes

    Our global education programmes and resources build the resilience of young people to extremism, hate speech and disinformation.

  • Grassroots networks

    We create and empower grassroots networks to push back against extremism, hate and disinformation in communities around the world.

  • Communications programmes

    We harness data, technology and marketing tactics to create communications and campaigns which mount a proportional response to extremist propaganda and disinformation.

Latest Publications and Resources

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Team

Zahed Amanullah
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Zahed Amanullah

Resident Senior Fellow, Networks & Outreach

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Zahed Amanullah
Zahed Amanullah

Resident Senior Fellow, Networks & Outreach

Zahed Amanullah is a Resident Senior Fellow at ISD, leading on ISD’s civil society engagement, communications, and partnerships, coordinating the public and private sectors with activists, frontline workers, and relevant civil society networks. He has worked closely with Google.org to support British and European civil society organisations through the Innovation Fund, the Shared Endeavour Fund, and the Google Impact Challenge on Safety. He has given testimony to the UK and European parliaments and has been featured at the BBC, NPR, Channel 4, Sky News, the Guardian, CNN International, The New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, Le Monde Diplomatique, and Newsweek, among others. He has co-authored the ISD reports The Impact of Counternarratives, Between Two Extremes: Responding to Islamist and tribalist messaging online in Kenya during the 2017 elections, and The Innovation Fund to Counter Hate and Extremism in the UK. He holds a BS from the University of California, Berkeley and a Diploma in Management from the University of Bath.
Kelsey Bjornsgaard
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Kelsey Bjornsgaard

Director of Practice, Strong Cities Network

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Kelsey Bjornsgaard
Kelsey Bjornsgaard

Director of Practice, Strong Cities Network

Kelsey Bjornsgaard is the Director of Practice for the Strong Cities Network where she develops training models and resources to enhance locally-led approaches to preventing and countering violent extremism. She works closely with youth, civil society and national and local government actors to identify good practice, build critical capacities and drive cross-sectoral coordination to promote community-based solutions on a global scale. Kelsey leads the delivery of Strong Cities’ youth pillar, Young Cities, and is driving work on National Local Cooperation. Kelsey holds a Master's in International Conflict Studies from King’s College London and a Bachelor's in European Studies from the University of Oklahoma.
Jennie King
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Jennie King

Director of Climate Research and Policy

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Jennie King
Jennie King

Director of Climate Research and Policy

Jennie King is the Director of Climate Research and Policy, leading efforts to translate ISD's digital research into frontline programming and response. Through ISD, she helped found Climate Action Against Disinformation (CAAD), a coalition of over 50 organisations working to identify, analyse and counter climate disinformation worldwide. She has spearheaded investigations on climate denialism and ‘discourses of delay’ in the contexts of Australia, Canada, Central Europe, Germany, South Africa, the US and UK, as well as co-authored a number of ISD’s flagship reports on this issue. Jennie also helped design, and currently manages, the COP Intelligence Units on behalf of CAAD, leading over 15 partners to produce real-time monitoring of mis- and disinformation around climate summits.
Charlotte Moeyens
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Charlotte Moeyens

Senior Manager, Networks & Civic Action

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Charlotte Moeyens
Charlotte Moeyens

Senior Manager, Networks & Civic Action

Charlotte Moeyens is a Senior Manager, Networks & Civic Action, at ISD, sitting in the central Resources and Methods team to support with the collation and distribution of counter-extremism best practice, overseeing the development and international delivery of training modules, materials and resources for practitioners and civil society. She has supported the delivery of the Google.org Impact Challenge on Safety in Europe, Africa Online Safety Fund and Mayor of London’s Shared Endeavour Fund. Most recently, she is working with the McCain Institute to develop and build the capacity of a US Prevention and Intervention Practitioners Network. Charlotte also forms part of the Strong Cities Network's (SCN) Central Management Unit, and is co-author of the SCN's Multi-Agency Models for Preventing Violent Extremism: A Guidebook for Bangladesh, as well as ISD reports YouthCAN: The Many States of Activism and Women, Girls and Islamist Extremism.