On May 3, 2023, Peace and Freedom Organization together with Justice #Call Organization and the United Network of Young Peacebuilders (UNOY) conducted a virtual Peer-learning session, entitled How to make sure that YPS national coalitions remain youth-led and are not tokenistic.

The United Nations Security Council unanimously adopted three historic resolutions, UNSCR 2250 on Youth, Peace and Security (2015), UNSCR 2419 (2018) and UNSCR 2535 (2020), that firmly place youth on the sustaining peace agenda, recognizing their important contribution to the sustainability of peace and prevention of violence. The three resolutions urge Member States to consider ways to increase the inclusive representation of youth in decision-making at all levels, including in peace processes and meaningfully engage youth in implementing the Youth, Peace and Security (YPS) agenda.

Coalitions and intergenerational partnerships lay at the core of the YPS agenda. To ensure the meaningful implementation of the YPS agenda on the country-level, various actors must come together to collectively work on the agenda. “The YPS community is composed of a diverse group of individuals, organizations and stakeholders, both youth and non-youth.”

With an increased momentum around YPS implementation, the challenges for young people have also increased, especially in regards to establishing and co-leading coalitions. These challenges range from a lack of engagement and involvement of youth by governments, adhoc and tokenistic practices and cooptation of youth efforts. Across the six regions, UNOY members are active in national and regional coalitions. Often UNOY members start implementation initiatives at the local level through their advocacy. Currently, UNOY members both create and co-lead national coalitions.