Youth participation 101 - five simple tips for including youth in peacebuilding

16 Aug 2016
18

Youth participation 101 – five simple tips for including youth in peacebuilding

UN Security Council Resolution 2250 calls for the inclusion of youth in peacebuilding and the prevention of violence. That means that policy makers, NGOs, international organisations and others all need to find out how to include youth in their work.

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By UNOY Peacebuilders

So you want to work with youth in peacebuilding, but don’t know how to start?

UN Security Council Resolution 2250 calls for the inclusion of youth in peacebuilding and the prevention of violence. That means that policy makers, NGOs, international organisations and others all need to find out how to include youth in their work.

Here are a five top tips for working with youth in peacebuilding:

  1. Get out there. Don’t just expect young people to show up. Formal processes, from peace negotiations to international policy forums, are usually not designed for young people and so young people often think they don’t have a place there. Be proactive, go out to the young people in your community or constituency. Talk to them, listen to them, have a meaningful conversation.
  2. Don’t treat youth as a side issue. Youth participation must be a core component of any peacebuilding efforts and not siloed off to the side. If you are organising a meeting or event, don’t organise a separate youth event: Invite youth to the main event instead. Include youth at all levels, at all times. At the same time, remember that they might need different types of support to be able to contribute than older people do. Be youth-sensitive in designing programs and spaces into which youth are invited.
  3. Widen your understanding of peacebuilding. Building peaceful societies means different things to different people. For societies to be built on sustainable peace, it’s important to acknowledge that the needs of young people might be different from the needs of their seniors and take this into account in peacebuilding activities. Young people might identify different problems than those who are older, maybe even ones that have not traditionally been considered within the realm of peacebuilding.
  4. Support young people’s initiatives. You don’t have all the answers. Support youth in developing their own peacebuilding projects, for example with technical support or with appropriate and accessible funding. They know what they’re doing, but they need your support to make it work.
  5. Make sure your work doesn’t hinder young people’s participation. Unfortunately youth participation in peacebuilding is often hampered by misguided policies or programs, such as counter-terrorism strategies. If you want youth to play an active and positive role, take a serious look at your own work and make sure it’s not unintentionally counter-productive.

These tips should give you some ideas, but don’t let yourself be limited by them. Go out there and talk to young people, ask them what they want to do!

For more inspiration, check out the Guiding Principles on Young People’s Participation in Peacebuilding.

Are you a young person who wants to push for increased youth participation? Take a look at our2250 Toolkit – it’s made for you.

UNOY Peacebuilders are a member of the Global Coalition for Conflict Transformation, comprised of organizations committed to upholding and implementing the principles of conflict transformation. 

This article was originally published on UNOY Peacebuilders’ website and is available by clicking here. The views expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect the views of TransConflict.


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