UNV Sri Lanka’s #Youth4Peace programme empowers young peace builders
Since the end of the war in 2009, the engagement of young people in the nation’s peacebuilding agenda has been minimal. Recognizing the tremendous potential of young people to become positive agents of change, UN Volunteers initiated the #Youth4Peace Capacity Building Programme in partnership with UNFPA and with the support of the UN Peacebuilding Fund, to empower young leaders to become community peacebuilders.
The programme stems from outcomes of the UN Security Council Resolution 2250 on Youth, Peace and Security, which is the first formal recognition of the role of youth in peacebuilding in the world. The programme looks at how youth can become active partners in peacebuilding efforts at local, provincial and national levels in Sri Lanka. The programme also facilitates regional and global connectivity for the youth.
The #Youth4Peace Capacity Building Programme consists of three phases focusing on the Northern, Eastern, Central and Southern provinces of the country. The first phase was the “Training of Leaders” which focused on developing young people to become community leaders and peacebuilders.
The second phase is for the trained young leaders to implement their own peacebuilding initiatives developed at the first trainings. In order to strengthen their efforts the participants were connected with a global network of young peacebuilders who acted as mentors of the projects. Almost 100 young leaders have been trained at the 4 provincial “Training of Leaders” and more than 60 of them have engaged in implementing sustainable peacebuilding initiatives in their own communities, impacting over 1900 Individuals.
As the third phase of the programme, a selected group of trained young leaders from all four provinces were brought together to be trained as empowered advocates for peace. Through the “Training of Advocates” they together developed an advocacy strategy for peacebuilding in Sri Lanka within the scope of reconciliation, transitional justice and equality. They are also undertaking exposure visits to each province, are leading peacebuilding efforts and advocating for peace in Sri Lanka.
The #Youth4Peace programme is unique because it has been entirely delivered by young peacebuilders in the country with the support of UN Volunteers Sri Lanka. These trainings not only connected young leaders from all parts of Sri Lanka, it also made them a part of the global network of peacebuilders - one of the participants also received the opportunity to attend the Young Peacebuilders Forum 2018 of the United Network of Young Peacebuilders held in The Hague.
#Youth4Peace is a global engagement and Sri Lankan youth are now a strong element in this network, with young people leading meaningful peacebuilding efforts at all levels in Sri Lanka.