Faith Associates CEO Visits Kenya and Australia

CEO in Australia

In June 2015, Faith Associates’ CEO, Shaukat Warraich was invited, on behalf of the Attorney-General George Brandis QC to Sydney to a regional summit focused on countering violent extremism. The purpose of the Summit was to bring together leading social enterprises and civil society organisations to discuss and find solutions for the online propaganda methods of extremist groups like ISIL. The Summit provided an important platform for participants to collaborate, meet and share challenges of identifying and effectively countering terrorist narratives.

The Summit involved presentations and panel discussions focussing on identifying and countering terrorist propaganda and the development of partnerships between governments, civil society and industry. It ran concurrently with capacity building and training sessions with themes that included working with social media, community-led rehabilitation and early intervention and how to develop a countering violent extremism strategy.

In addition to attending this conference, Shaukat also visited key institutions and organisations within the Australian Muslim community. One of the key organisations he met was the Australasian Muslim Times editorial team which included Shaykh Qazi Ashfaq Ahmed.

The Australasian Muslim Times outlet is a community newspaper based in Sydney. It is a monthly, full colour publication distributed via newsagents throughout Australia and available at Mosques and Islamic centres. The meeting looked at the potential areas of collaboration between Faith Associates and the Australian Muslim community.

CEO in Kenya

In July 2015, Faith Associates’ CEO, Shaukat Warraich, was invited by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) to Kenya to take part in discussions and share ideas around the development and support of Islamic institutions across the country.

Shaukat was invited to give a presentation showcasing the work Faith Associates has undertaken in the management and support of Mosques and Madrassahs. The meetings, consultations and discussions taking place in Kenya centered on the desire to replicate the Faith Associates model to cater for African Muslim communities.

The visit to Kenya also provided an opportunity for Shaukat to visit leading established institutions within Nairobi including a madrassah that provides boarding for 123 male and female children studying both UK GCSE’s and Quranic studies.