SIUE Hosts Inaugural Symposium and Competition to Reduce Hate Crimes and Targeted Violence in Illinois High Schools

EDWARDSVILLE - The Illinois Invent2Prevent statewide partnership between Southern Illinois University Edwardsville, EdVenture Partners, and the Illinois Emergency Management Agency-Office of Homeland Security will convene to establish the Invent2Prevent program in Illinois. This inaugural Illinois Invent2Prevent statewide symposium and competition that highlights interventions by high school students to reduce targeted violence and hate crimes in their communities will be held from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Monday, May 19 at SIUE’s Morris University Center (MUC) in the Conference Center.

“These student competitions are what we live for, and it is especially exciting as this will be the very first one showcasing Illinois Invent2Prevent teams,” said Tony Sgro, founder and CEO of EdVenture Partners. “These students are addressing difficult issues that they are personally facing in their schools, on their campuses, and in their communities and they are providing credible, authentic solutions to preventing targeted violence and hate; it is pretty incredible.”

Adnan Khayyat, Chief Nuclear Officer, Illinois Emergency Management Agency Office of Homeland Security, will be the keynote speaker.

Event hosts Laurie Rice, PhD, professor of political science and Suranjan Weeraratne, PhD, professor of political science, have planned a day of student project presentations, a keynote address, award presentations, and networking reception.

Rice and Weeraratne received a grant from the Department of Homeland Security’s Center for Prevention Programs and Partnerships, which allowed them to conduct surveys in 2023 throughout southern Illinois about radicalization.

Rice, Principal Investigator for the project said, “The project aims include raising societal awareness of the dangers of violent extremism, promoting civic engagement, and fostering youth resilience by directly involving Illinois high school students in a public health informed approach to targeted violence prevention that reduces risk factors and bolsters protective factors in youth."

Illinois Invent2Prevent seeks to empower and motivate high school students in the state of Illinois to prevent targeted violence and domestic terrorism by challenging student teams to conceptualize, design and implement innovative peer-developed initiatives, products and tools aimed at reducing the risk of radicalization to violence in their communities.

Weeraratne, Co-Investigator for the project said, “We are looking forward to welcoming several high school teams from across Illinois to the inaugural event on May 19 as they present the projects they have been working so hard on. We are also looking forward to a more expanded program next year that will involve participating teams from even more Illinois high schools.”

The Illinois Invent2Prevent program is funded by a grant from the Department of Homeland Security’s Targeted Violence and Terrorism Prevention Program (TVTP).

Advanced registration is available for attendees.

Livestream of portions of the program will be available with online registration.

Southern Illinois University Edwardsville provides students with a high-quality education that powerfully transforms the lives of all individuals who seek something greater. A premier metropolitan university, SIUE is creating social and economic mobility for individuals while also powering the workforce of the future. Built on the foundation of a broad-based liberal education, and enhanced by hands-on research and real-world experiences, the academic preparation SIUE students receive equips them to thrive in the global marketplace and make our communities better places to live. Home to a diverse student body, SIUE is situated on 2,660 acres of beautiful woodland atop the bluffs overlooking the natural beauty of the Mississippi River’s rich bottomland and only a short drive from downtown St. Louis.

Print Version