Michele Grossman
Research Chair in Diversity and Resilience, Alfred Deakin Institute, Deakin University
2022
Professor Michele Grossman, the Research Chair in Diversity and Community Resilience at Deakin University’s Burwood campus, is also the Director of the Centre for Resilient and Inclusive Societies, and the Convenor of the AVERT (Addressing Violent Extremism and Radicalisation to Terrorism) research network. The research she leads informs both domestic and international policy-setting on countering terrorism.
“We need to understand how to intervene early and effectively when people are becoming involved in violent extremism, and we also need to understand how to support their disengagement from violent extremism so that they can exit successfully and rejoin their communities,” she says.
“The main questions I explore are what we can learn from the various strategies used by different cultural groups to cope with challenge and adversity; understanding more about the social vulnerabilities that may lead some people to become attracted to violent extremism as a solution to grievances or problems; and how we can build effective government-community partnerships and solutions to tackle the uptake of violent extremism across the spectrum of various social movements and ideologies.”
The Summit was more than empty words – it made clear that a solution-driven approach is the only way to fight hate. That’s why the working group activities, which are results driven are going to be critical in defeating violent extremism. The Summit brought together the best minds in government, private sector, academia, and civil society. Being surrounded by these experts sparked new ideas – some of which I’ve already implemented or have written about.
