ABU DHABI // The first International Center of Excellence for Countering Violent Extremism will open its doors in the capital this October, a senior Foreign Ministry official said today.
The new centre will be dedicated to the study, research and development of counter-extremist policies.
"This centre is the first of its kind and will have three main objectives," said Faris Al Mazroui, the assistant foreign minister for security and military affairs.
"It will conduct discussions and initiate cooperation between member states on issues of violent extremism, it will research and offer studies on the subject and it will train experts and stakeholders as well as offer members capacity building to counter the threat," he said.
The centre will not, however, be a base for intelligence gathering and will conduct no outward missions or operations.
"We are not a security centre; we are a research and study centre," he said.
The centre is funded by the UAE government and other members of the Global Counter Terrorism Forum (GCTF).
The GCTF is a global consortium made up of 28 members, including the United States, China, Russia, South Africa and India, as well as representatives from the European Union and the United Nations.
The group is currently meeting in Abu Dhabi to discuss communication plans, staffing and evaluation plans for the new centre.
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The more serious side of specialty coffee
While the taste of beans and freshness of roast is paramount to the specialty coffee scene, so is sustainability and workers’ rights.
The bulk of genuine specialty coffee companies aim to improve on these elements in every stage of production via direct relationships with farmers. For instance, Mokha 1450 on Al Wasl Road strives to work predominantly with women-owned and -operated coffee organisations, including female farmers in the Sabree mountains of Yemen.
Because, as the boutique’s owner, Garfield Kerr, points out: “women represent over 90 per cent of the coffee value chain, but are woefully underrepresented in less than 10 per cent of ownership and management throughout the global coffee industry.”
One of the UAE’s largest suppliers of green (meaning not-yet-roasted) beans, Raw Coffee, is a founding member of the Partnership of Gender Equity, which aims to empower female coffee farmers and harvesters.
Also, globally, many companies have found the perfect way to recycle old coffee grounds: they create the perfect fertile soil in which to grow mushrooms.
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