Grassroots Networks

Grassroots networks

ISD’s networks include practitioners, youth, women, community influencers, former extremists and survivors of violent extremism.

Extremism is a global phenomenon that is ill served by top-down approaches. We work to empower and facilitate civil society, fostering networks of independent, community groups and influencers to take the lead at the front lines, applying their expertise and credibility in a way that delivers impact at scale.

These networks provide expert knowledge and context to help create effective counter-extremism programmes. Find out more about our grassroots networks:

Against Violent Extremism Network
ISD’s Against Violent Extremism (AVE) network leverages the experiences and insight of former violent extremists and survivors of violent extremism. The network empowers them to work together to push back against extremist narratives.

YouthCAN
ISD’s Youth Civil Activism Network (YouthCAN) is the leading global youth counter-extremism network, uniting over 1,500 young activists, creatives and tech entrepreneurs in more than 130 countries.

Women and Extremism (WaE)
ISD’s Women and Extremism network (WaE) pioneers new research and initiatives to address the presence of women within violent extremist organisations and develop new ways for women to counter extremism globally.

Latest Publications

Click here for more related ISD Publications

ISD’s Civil Society Networks team

Zahed Amanullah

Resident Senior Fellow, Networks & Outreach

Follow @zahed

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

Director of Practice, Strong Cities Network

Follow @@KrBjorn

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

Director of Climate Disinformation Research and Policy

Follow @jkingy

Jennie King is the Director of Climate Disinformation 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

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.