¡°Young People for Freedom¡± Joint Programme, 2023. Credit: UNDP El Salvador
UN University Centre for Policy Research
Positioning youth to showcase their contributions
Young people are essential to lasting stability, but how do we move from token inclusion to meaningful partnership? The on Youth, Peace and Security (YPS) offers a proven roadmap.
Drawing on projects around the world between 2018 and 2022, the review outlines concrete lessons learned from the UN Peacebuilding Fund. It demonstrates exactly how targeted programming expands the space for youth to lead¡ªfrom establishing local youth councils to driving national dialogue.
We asked the (UNU-CPR), which led the Thematic Review, five quick questions about what they learned.
What is your main area of work with youth?
UNU-CPR¡¯s work on YPS focuses on examining how commitments to the agenda are being implemented in practice.
Through the 2025 Peacebuilding Fund Thematic Review, we analyze evidence from 41 projects across 33 countries to assess best practices and lessons learned on increasing youth participation and inclusion, and how the Peacebuilding Fund and other peacebuilding efforts have helped to advance the YPS agenda.
Involving young people in local youth councils in Guinea helped decrease risks of violence and laid a foundation for later mobilization toward a national youth action plan. Credit: UNFPA Guinea
Why are young people key to building lasting peace?
The evidence shows that young people are important contributors to peacebuilding processes, through local decision-making, mediation and community initiatives.
Their engagement can strengthen the inclusivity and responsiveness of peacebuilding efforts, particularly when supported through expanded access to decision-making spaces, stronger youth platforms and attention to socioeconomic conditions that shape meaningful engagement.
Name one way your organization empowers young people to become agents of peace.
Our research suggests that the best way to empower young people is to allow them to show what they can do. In projects we examined, we saw youth being empowered to establish community service initiatives, resolve local disputes, act as messengers of peace, or design their own peacebuilding campaigns.
Positioning youth to showcase their contributions was more effective at dismantling stigmas and stereotypes than intervention strategies premised on simply communicating youth¡¯s potential.
The peacebuilding initiative in Guinea-Bissau used an intersectional analysis and approach to ensure outreach and inclusion for those with disabilities, including a range of accommodation strategies and activity adaptations to allow those with physical, visual and other disabilities to participate. Credit: Interpeace/ Marino da Costa
If you could bust one myth about youth, what would it be?
A common assumption is that youth inclusion is automatically effective. The Review shows that participation depends on enabling conditions including access to decision-making, functioning youth platforms, reduced stigma and socioeconomic support. Without these, engagement risks being uneven or limited in impact, despite strong policy commitments to youth inclusion.
What¡¯s one action anyone, anywhere, can take to support youth¡¯s contribution to peace?
One important step is to ensure that youth participation is meaningful rather than symbolic. This involves creating opportunities for young people to engage in decision-making processes, while also providing the resources and institutional support needed to sustain their contributions over time.