Interpeace has worked and partnered with youth in Africa, Latin America, Europe, the Middle East and Asia, in countries where young people are affected by cycles of protracted conflict and face physical violence, forced recruitment into armed groups, intergenerational transmission of trauma,forced displacement, and have lost access to schooling, jobs and livelihood opportunities. Since its inception, Interpeace has recognised and asserted that investing in young people’s agency and leadership will have a profound impact on building sustainable peace. A goal of Interpeace’s programmes is to strengthen the resilience capacities of youth and prioritise their participation in building social and political resilience, particularly in areas where their involvement is critical: climate change and transitional justice among others.

In 2023, Interpeace’s youth, peace and security (YPS) work continued to be embedded in most country programmes, including in Burkina Faso, Burundi, Côte d’Ivoire, Rwanda, Somalie, Yémen and in the Great Lakes region. In addition, Interpeace created and supported an Outside the Box digital platform, where young men and women can amplify their voices and leadership at a global level. The organisation also provided policy advice during the year to senior United Nations officials as well as representatives of member governments.

The programme Beyond Localisation: Youth Leadership in the Evolution of the YPS Agenda, which started in June 2023 and will run until June 2024 with the aim of advancing and deepening the role of young women and men in building peace and preventing violent conflict in their countries, while also providing platforms to amplify their voices in the policy arena. Conversely, the programme also works to ensure that learning and perspectives from young people at the country-level are contributed at the broader international level and are able to contribute to the evolution of YPS policy in the multilateral system.