“The sub-theme of the seminar, ‘building
bridges and overcoming gaps in the understanding of terrorism in Africa’, was one of the recommendations reached at the first seminar held in Benoni, South Africa, in November 2006. It posits that, in order to prevent and combat terrorism in Africa,
we must come up with ways of building bridges across the continent. Hence, the Cairo seminar had the primary aim of building
bridges between North and sub-Saharan Africa, between Africa and the West, and between practitioners, scholars or researchers, civil society, communities and the general public. It was hoped that the process of building these bridges would also
provide opportunities for forging and strengthening partnerships that are necessary in combating and preventing terrorism in Africa. Most critical, acccording to the participants in the Cairo
seminar, is the need to build bridges that would lead to a common understanding of terrorist threats and the harmonisation of
counter-terrorism measures and strategies in Africa.”
