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Youth, Peace and Security

2024 in numbers

Total number of young people engaged
Total number of young people engaged 18 238 (Over 25% of total project participants)
In the Great Lakes regional programme
100%
In Ethiopia
75%
In Mali
66%
In Burkina Faso
50%

Overview

Interpeace has been at the forefront of youth peacebuilding for nearly three decades, working across Africa, Latin America, Europe, the Middle East, and Asia. Over a decade ago, Interpeace developed a multi-country strategy based on horizontal learning sessions with multiple country programmes, recognising the importance of youth-centred approaches to building peace. Recognising the transformative potential of youth, Interpeace has focused on strengthening the resilience and leadership capacities of young people in conflict-affected areas, exploring the dimensions of this work in its interdisciplinary literature review for the Framework for Assessing Resilience. Interpeace was an active participant in drafting the Amman Declaration, which preceded the passage of UNSCR 2250 on Youth, Peace and Security. The 2018 Independent Progress Report on Youth, Peace and Security[1] applied Interpeace’s principles and approach to inclusive consultative research. Interpeace also contributed three country context studies (Northern Triangle, Palestine, and Côte d’Ivoire) to the report. Additionally, it has been a significant contributor and actor in integrating YPS within the broader UN system, particularly in the development and eventual passage of UNSCR 2535 and the establishment of the UN Youth Office in 2024.

Interpeace distinguishes between merely working with young people and developing self-conscious, youth-centred approaches. We work with young men and women from diverse backgrounds with different lived experiences. This includes youth who are leaders in parliament, members of political parties, affiliated with gangs, artists, in formal and informal education settings, and warriors in pastoralist communities. Interpeace and its partners provide training, technical assistance, and accompaniment through peace education, socio-emotional skill-building, leadership training, mediation and peacebuilding skill development, technical and vocational skill-building, and more. This involves actively investing in young people’s voices, agency, and leadership to drive positive change in their societies. Through initiatives like the YPS-focused policy briefs and youth leadership seminars, Interpeace has amplified youth voices and facilitated their meaningful participation in peacebuilding efforts. These efforts have highlighted the importance of investing in youth as agents of change and have demonstrated the profound impact of youth-led peacebuilding on achieving sustainable peace.

[1] The 2018 Independent Progress Report on Youth, Peace and Security

Case study: Cross-border youth initiative for peace in the Great Lakes

The Cross-Border Dialogue for Peace and Youth Empowerment in the Great Lakes programme promotes youth leadership in peacebuilding processes at the local, regional, and national levels by strengthening their capacity through training and mentorship, supporting youth peacebuilding initiatives, and creating opportunities to engage decision-makers and play a catalytic role in reform processes on issues related to cross-border peacebuilding. Interpeace and its partners have implemented the initiative through Pole Institute, Never Again Rwanda (NAR), the Centre of Alert and Prevention of Conflicts (CENAP), Action for Peace and Concord (APC), the Refugee Law Project (RLP), and Vision Jeunesse Nouvelle (VJN).

Ishimwe Shalom fled from the DRC and sought refuge in Uganda in February 2018. Despite facing challenging circumstances as a refugee, Ishimwe has become a beacon of hope and inspiration for young people. Participating in the Great Lakes Cross-border Youth Dialogue for Peace Programme under RLP, Ishimwe is a Young Peace Fellow, passionate about empowering young, forced migrants. He is currently the Chairperson of Rendezvous Youth Group (RYG), a refugee youth-led organisation that supports forced migrants and vulnerable youth.

Ishimwe explains how participating in this programme has impacted him and his peacebuilding initiative:

“The Youth Lab project has been a great opportunity. First of all, because it brings together like-minded young people who are passionate about peacebuilding and are doing something about it. Secondly, the trainings that we get, contribute to one of the issues that we face, which is limited skills. So, when we are trained, we get more skills and energy, and this helps us do what we are doing even better. And lastly, the mentorship that we receive from different people who are more experienced who share their knowledge and experience with us. It’s a way of taking our hands so that we can go further and do better, based on what they faced in the past”.


The initiative's main achievements include:
  • 30 young innovators and 120 peace fellows trained and mentored to become actors for peace in their respective countries and communities
  • Five innovative peacebuilding initiatives developed by young people, technically and financially supported by the programme
  • 19 intergenerational and intercultural dialogues and seven political dialogues organised, facilitating a safe space for young people and elders to discuss and promote a culture of dialogue to overcome prejudice and stereotypes
  • Two cross-border peace festivals in Burundi and Rwanda, reaching 821 participants
  • A Great Lakes Youth Peace Summit held in Burundi in March 2023, providing a space for young people to exchange views with each other, elders, and policymakers on the challenges facing the new generation, as well as the opportunities to fully play their crucial role in the peace and development process
This has resulted in the following outcomes:
  • Regional relations: 60% of respondents (63% males, 57% females) felt positively about cross-border relations
  • Trust between communities: 55% of respondents (57% males, 53% females) indicated they trust people from neighbouring communities
  • Inter-community collaboration: 48% reported having engaged in initiatives aimed at strengthening cohesion
  • Inter-generational relations: 53% (55% males, 51% females) reported good intergenerational relationships