Young peacebuilders: Funding is important, but so are trust and partnerships

As conflicts around the world continue to proliferate, a group of young UN peacebuilders meet at UN Headquarters on the sidelines of the first meeting. UN Peacebuilding Week to reflect on what actions they can take to advance peace.

From Afghanistan to Ghana, and Canada to Ivory Coast, they say UN News how a lack of funding, limited trust in youth leadership, increasing repression of civil society and a lack of protection for youth who speak out can hinder their work.

Jenn Hernandez (Global Network of Women Peacebuilders, USA, Guatemala): We spoke to many women in the Middle East, North Africa and South Asia region, who told us they wanted to partner with the private sector and learn more technical skills.

We need long-lasting, collaborative, intergenerational partnerships that will help our young people take the next step and have the knowledge to educate the next generation.

Issah Toha Shamsoo (African Students for Interfaith Tolerance, Ghana): The younger generation is not waiting. We didn’t wait because in 2019 when I was watching the news, and I saw there were attacks on people in New Zealand, I thought, “Why is this happening in the world?”

I bring together diverse people to dialogue and build relationships. I did all that without knowing that it was peace building.

Linda Dempah (Laboratoires Adeba – biocosmetics company, Ivory Coast): We don’t really realize how important peace is until we don’t have it. In Ivory Coast we have a history of coups, civil wars and tumultuous periods of instability.

Owning a business actually helps create a stable environment, because people who have good jobs and are comfortable with their lives are less likely to want to get involved in things that could disrupt that, such as conflict or being recruited by armed groups.

Yahya Qanie (National Youth Consensus for Peace, Afghanistan): When I started working on youth empowerment and youth peacebuilding in Afghanistan, we were constantly told, “You don’t have enough experience.” There is also a very high bar for obtaining funding. At one point, we couldn’t access more than $700.

Currently, Afghanistan is in a very different situation compared to before 2021 (when the Taliban became rulers de facto authorities in that country.)

The dominant issue that previously revolved around women’s participation has now become an issue that affects the younger generation as a whole.

Youth civic space has been completely closed under Taliban rule. Young voices face the fallout. Young boys face radicalization at school.

John Koester (International Association of Youth and Students for Peace, USA): What we also emphasize is the need to fund ecosystems, not just individual projects. You’re easily spending more than 40 percent of your time on unfundable activities.

This includes building trust, maintaining relationships, building networks, seeking peer support, learning and taking time to heal.

Views from the UN

Felipe Paullier (UN Assistant Secretary General for Youth Affairs): There are a series of principles that need to be embedded in the financing structure so that it is responsive to young people and needs to consider young people as real partners.

My hope is that these principles are included in at least one of the UN’s global funding mechanisms.

Pio Smith (UNFPA Temporary Deputy Executive Director): I see many efforts made in national action plans that have a good vision, but are low in terms of budget and resource mobilization, and low in terms of support and funding for the agenda that has been implemented for years.

These things take time, and this is where we also need to work together with our Member States.