EAI is a nimble organization that year-on-year scales our work and geographic reach. In 2018, we expanded an innovative approach we designed to instigate peace and transform extremism by creating Alternative Messaging Hubs that close the gap filled by violent extremists with messaging that aims to empower and convey the strength of community members forwarding peaceful solutions.

The approach was piloted in Nigeria and has now scaled, with adaptation, to Kenya and the Philippines. The program design builds bridges between diverse stakeholders and is inclusive of all members of society by recognizing their innate agency and using a positive asset-based approach strengthening the leadership and capacity of emerging peace ambassadors, specifically youth and women, through locally resonant programming, including tech camps, locally-driven media, hackathons, and peace fellowships.

EAI is in the process of rolling out this programming across the Horn of Africa, including in Somalia, Ethiopia, and Djibouti. Over the next two years, we will launch additional programs aligned in all of our impact areas across the region.