{"id":12456,"date":"2022-08-09T23:05:45","date_gmt":"2022-08-09T21:05:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/interpeace2026.wpenginepowered.com\/?p=12456"},"modified":"2025-05-20T20:44:57","modified_gmt":"2025-05-20T18:44:57","slug":"from-policy-to-practice-partnering-with-youth-to-build-sustainable-peace","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.interpeace.org\/fr\/2022\/08\/from-policy-to-practice-partnering-with-youth-to-build-sustainable-peace\/","title":{"rendered":"From Policy to Practice \u2013 Partnering With Youth to Build Sustainable Peace"},"content":{"rendered":"\r\n

\"Young people around the world are advancing peace and justice and seeking to transform societies grappling with the legacies of both short- term and multi-generational conflict in exciting and powerful ways.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Anjli Parrin, Advancing Peace Through a Youth-Centered Approach to Transitional Justice<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Seven years ago, Resolution 2250 of the UN Security Council on Youth, Peace and Security (YPS) recognized the positive contribution of young people to the maintenance and promotion of peace and security; and urged Member States to increase the representation and meaningful participation of youth in conflict prevention and peacebuilding efforts. In implementation, however, the YPS agenda has faced a number of challenges in terms of access, resources and representation. Youth participation and their capacity to influence decision-making are often limited by structural barriers and insufficient investment in facilitating their inclusion and empowerment. As a result, youth participation has sometimes been neglected or manipulated. One of the objectives of this year\u2019s International Youth Day, on August 12th<\/sup>, is to raise awareness on age-related barriers in various spheres where the life of young people are impacted, such as employment, political participation, health and justice.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Interpeace has worked and partnered with youth for over 28 years in Africa, Latin America, Europe, the Middle East and Asia; in countries where young people are affected by the 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. From its inception, Interpeace has strived to ensure that the work is driven, owned and lead by young people at the country level, because we believe that investing in their voices, agency and leadership will have a profound impact in building sustainable peace. A key goal of our programmes is therefore to strengthen the resilience capacities of youth and prioritize their participation in building social and political resilience, particularly in areas where their involvement is critical: climate change, transitional justice and mental health, to name a few.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Currently Interpeace\u2019s youth, peace and security work<\/a> spans most of its country programmes, including C\u00f4te d\u2019Ivoire, Burundi, Yemen, Burkina Faso, Rwanda, Somalia, as well as our regional programme in Africa\u2019s Great Lakes; and through our recently launched \u201cOutside the Box\u201d digital platform<\/a> we are providing a space for young men and women to amplify their voices and leadership at a global level.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n

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Gasorwe Commune,Muyinga Province in Burundi. Photo credit: CENAP<\/figcaption>\r\n<\/figure>\r\n<\/div>\r\n\r\n\r\n

Youth Peace and Security in practice <\/strong><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

\"I realised that I can be the problem if I don't engage, if I don't take the first step. But I also understood that I can be the solution by bringing young people together.\" Idriss Ouattara, member of Association G\u00e9n\u00e9ration Consciente de C\u00f4te d'Ivoire in Bocabo (GCCI)<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

In C\u00f4te d\u2019Ivoire, Interpeace and local partner Indigo C\u00f4te d\u2019Ivoire, aimed to return to the core principle of the YPS agenda by making youth the architects of peacebuilding in their communities; by supporting and working with existing youth-led initiatives and ensuring youth were responsible for the design and the implementation of key components of the project.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Youth in C\u00f4te d\u2019Ivoire are commonly seen as key actors of political violence, being the victims of political instrumentalization and violent mobilization, particularly in electoral contexts. With the support and guidance of Interpeace and Indigo, youth groups carried out a Participatory Action Research (PAR) on the role of youth in political violence. From the results gathered, they proceeded to design new political violence prevention actions, putting YPS tools into practice in their context. Furthermore, the youth groups developed and implemented advocacy and communication campaigns based on these results.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

This exchange reinforced the capacities of the youth groups to make their initiative on violence prevention and social cohesion more strategic, efficient, impactful, inclusive and sustainable. The publication: Putting the Youth, Peace and Security Agenda into practice: Youth as peace agents in C\u00f4te d\u2019Ivoire<\/a> captures key lessons and good practices from the initiative. It helps tackle the challenge of implementing the Youth, Peace and Security agenda, both nationally and locally, as well as provides a practical guide to governments, agencies, international organizations, NGOs and the private sector who wish to strengthen the participation of young people and their contribution to peace and security efforts.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n

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