Local action, global impact: Celebrating ten years of the Youth, Peace and Security agenda 

Ten years after the adoption of United Nations Security Council Resolution 2250 on Youth, Peace and Security, young people around the world are proving that peacebuilding is most effective when it starts in the community. Across continents, youth-led initiatives are tackling the root causes of conflict, bridging divides, and building the trust needed for lasting peace. As we mark the anniversary of the Youth, Peace and Security agenda, we highlight three of our partner organisations , Youth Without Borders Organization for Development (YWBOD), Pokot Youth Bunge County Forum (PYBCF) and Peace Initiatives that are working with young people in communities in Yemen, Kenya and Kyrgyzstan – showing how young people are translating this global commitment into concrete change.

Youth participation in Yemeni-led peacebuilding 

Mauyid Nasser from Youth Without Borders Organization for Development and Marcellia Al-Osaly, President of the Interactive Women's Forum speak with a Security Department Official.

The war in Yemen has excluded young people from civic life, pushing many towards violence. In response, young women and men have begun calling for peace and creating spaces for their participation in peacebuilding and civil society. The adoption of the Youth, Peace and Security resolution was a real motivation to engage in peacebuilding and help restore Yemen’s social fabric and cohesion at local levels. 

Since then, Saferworld and the Youth Without Borders Organization for Development (YWBOD) have worked together to support youth initiatives and civil society organisations through flexible funding and demand-led technical support. This has included youth-led peacebuilding, youth economic and political participation, community reconciliation, developing organisational skills, and building solidarity between civil society organisations. Young people have shown an impressive ability to build peace from the ground up, focusing on community initiatives that meet urgent needs. 

Supported by Saferworld and YWBOD, youth-led initiatives have created opportunities for community engagement and collaboration with local authorities. These efforts have encouraged cooperation across different parts of society and strengthened young people’s sense of ownership and responsibility for building a harmonious community from the grassroots level. Initiatives and hubs that we have supported have led social campaigns and mediated conflicts, demonstrating that young people rooted in their communities can address complex local challenges effectively. 

Rainwater harvesting reducing tensions around water access 

In Al-Daym village, Taiz, the ‘Take My Hand’ initiative tackled a persistent conflict over water access that had caused tension and even violence among residents. The youth-led group designed and installed a rainwater harvesting network to supply households directly from the communal reservoir, ensuring fair distribution and easy access. This resolved a long-standing source of dispute, improved safety, and built pride and solidarity in the community. It also inspired further voluntary projects, including paving internal roads – showing how youth-led, collaborative action can transform infrastructure challenges into lasting social cohesion and security. 

Lessons from Yemen for global peacebuilding 

There are several significant barriers to young people’s participation, however. These include:

• The dire economic situation, with a lack of employment opportunities and rising costs, has forced many young people to prioritise their basic needs over activism.

• The security situation poses a significant threat to youth activists.

• Despite their efforts, young people are largely excluded from high-level peace negotiations, with limited participation in formal peace negotiations and exclusion from decision-making processes.

• Most funding streams are short-term, heavily restricted, and not tailored to youth initiatives. This limits innovation, continuity, and scale of impact. 

Youth peacebuilding programmes should focus on developing skilled, credible young leaders rather than only measuring participation numbers. This requires sustained investment in mentorship, skills development and opportunities for young people to contribute meaningfully to peace and governance processes. 

Inclusive, locallyled initiatives that involve women, marginalised youth and other community members are more likely to meet diverse needs and deliver equitable, sustainable solutions. Empowering young people as agents of change, and fostering cooperation between local actors and international organisations, is essential for lasting peace. 

Young people at the centre of transforming peacebuilding in Kenya’s pastoralist communities 

Youth herders and elders come together during a community sensitisation forum to promote the use of grazing blocks — an innovative strategy to boost pasture access and prevent cross-border resource conflicts.

For decades, Kenya’s pastoralist communities, including the Pokot, Turkana, Marakwet and Sebei, have grappled with recurring violence driven by cattle rustling, natural resource competition and historical grievances. In the past, peace efforts were reactive and focused on ceasefire negotiations after violence had erupted. However, over the last ten years, Pokot Youth Bunge County Forum (PYBCF) has redefined this approach by placing young people at the heart of conflict prevention. 

Initially, youth involvement was minimal, with elders and security forces leading mediation. Today, PYBCF’s strategy is proactive, structured and policy-driven, tackling root causes such as poverty, climate change and harmful cultural practices. With support from organisations like Saferworld and International Alert, PYBCF has built a model that helps young people through community action groups, equipping them with skills in mediation, advocacy and economic resilience. 

Innovating beyond traditional conflict resolution 

Cattle rustling and border disputes have long plagued the region, but young peacebuilders are shifting tactics. Traditional methods like elder-led truces remain important, but youth are introducing fresh and inclusive approaches. For example, they organise ‘sports for peace’ tournaments, which bring together young people from rival communities, fostering friendships that reduce the likelihood of future conflicts. Cross-border dialogue forums now include not only youth but also women, elders and local leaders. This ensures that solutions are inclusive and draw from a wide range of experiences. Young people are also taking up alternative livelihoods to reduce economic burdens that lead to cattle rustling, and they are using mobile phone networks to share early-warning alerts from grazing fields. These alerts enable timely interventions to prevent attacks and assist in the tracking and recovery of stolen livestock. Youth are also actively involved in securing and protecting designated grazing blocks, easing tensions over land and water. 

Ensuring meaningful youth participation

Pastoralist youth in West Pokot have historically been excluded from decision-making due to age hierarchies, patriarchal norms and lack of formal education opportunities. PYBCF addresses this by creating accessible platforms where young people can take part in peacebuilding on an equal footing with elders and officials. 

Through focused training, advocacy and direct engagement with policy-makers, youth are now present in local peace committees and county peace forums – spaces that were once closed to them. 

Despite this progress, challenges remain. Insecurity along volatile borders, deep-rooted cultural norms and insufficient funding for youth-led initiatives still limit what can be achieved. Overcoming these barriers will require sustained investment, targeted policy reforms and stronger institutional backing. 

How reformed warriors became peacebuilders

In 2023, prolonged drought, political tensions and the spread of small arms intensified violence along the Pokot–Turkana border. Banditry attacks resulted in the loss of lives, displacement of people, destruction of properties and disruption of livelihoods along the Kainuk and Masol border points. 

PYBCF responded by strengthening the Masol Grazing and Peace Committee, bringing together reformed warriors, elders and women. Led by former warrior Joshua Lorot, the group conducted cross-border peace dialogues, condemned attacks and pledged to help recover stolen livestock, drawing on their insider knowledge of bandit routes. They also initiated intergenerational resource-sharing discussions, created grazing by-laws and secured pasture areas to reduce competition. Alongside these efforts, they organised ‘sports for peace’ events to maintain relationships across community lines. These youth-led interventions resulted in peaceful engagements between the two communities and increased open trades and joint ventures, including mining of gold at Kambi Karaya within West Pokot and grazing of Pokot cattle in Lobokot within Turkana County. This experience underscored the transformative power of youth in conflict resolution. 

Lessons for Kenya’s national Youth, Peace and Security strategies 

PYBCF’s work offers crucial insights for policy-makers, demonstrating that sustainable peace requires young people as active decision-makers – not just beneficiaries – involved in designing and implementing peace programmes. Effective strategies must prioritise localised solutions, adapting to cultural and environmental realities rather than imposing generic approaches. Policy frameworks should formally recognise youth leadership by securing dedicated funding and institutionalising their roles in peace structures. Breaking down exclusionary norms through intergenerational dialogue and gender-inclusive approaches is essential for meaningful, long-term conflict transformation. These lessons underscore the need for a youth-centred, context-sensitive national strategy that enables young people as key architects of peace. 

Kyrgyzstan: Building bridges through youth 

Active youth from Batken during their visit to local museum as part of the 4-days summer school "Power of Peace: Future Young Leaders Training Camp" in Kulundu, Kyrgyzstan.

In the decade since the launch of the Youth, Peace and Security agenda, young people in Kyrgyzstan have moved from the margins to the centre of peacebuilding. Once seen largely as bystanders or even potential risks, they are now recognised as vital actors in preventing conflict, promoting dialogue and fostering trust. 

In response to challenges such as inter-ethnic tensions, political instability and cross-border clashes, particularly in the Batken region, Peace Initiatives have built long-term platforms for youth engagement. Young people can monitor and prevent conflicts, engage with decision-makers and run their own initiatives, thanks to the establishment of Public Advisory Councils in border areas, Local Crime Prevention Centers, peace clubs, ‘tolerance corners’, youth committees and youth organisations. 

Cross-border exchanges, especially with Uzbekistan, have brought young people together to share experiences and solutions, with an emphasis on including girls and young women in leadership roles. However, despite these advances, rural youth and young women in particular still face barriers to participation due to traditional gender norms, lack of access to resources and weak state implementation of youth policy. 

Addressing root causes of conflict 

Since 2017, the public union ‘Peace Initiatives’ has worked intensively with youth in conflict-affected areas, particularly in Batken, to address the underlying drivers of violence. This includes poverty, misinformation, social exclusion and mistrust between ethnic groups.

The organisation provides training in mediation, non-violent communication, tolerance and critical thinking, while promoting volunteerism and civic engagement. Young people are supported to design and implement their own mini projects, often with seed grants and mentorship, advancing solutions for conflict prevention to community development.

Over the past two years, more than 1,500 young people from diverse ethnic and regional backgrounds have taken part in peacebuilding trainings. Many now participate actively in local councils, engage directly with authorities to resolve community concerns, and lead initiatives that promote peaceful coexistence. 

Using technology for peace 

In a country where social media can rapidly spread both mobilisation messages and misinformation, Peace Initiatives has made digital literacy a core part of its work. 

Young people are trained to recognise and counter hate speech, fake news and online provocations, especially in border communities where a single false post can trigger tensions. They learn to use fact-checking tools, adopt ethical online behaviour, and create constructive digital content such as short videos, podcasts, infographics and blog posts that highlight reconciliation stories promoting solidarity, respect and peace. Online campaigns and digital flash mobs unite young people across regions and ethnic lines, turning technology into a platform for dialogue rather than division. 

Stories of cooperation 

In Apkan village, located in the Batken region on the border with Uzbekistan, youth have turned an annual source of dispute – water shortages – into a symbol of unity. Each year, young people from both sides work together to clean and maintain irrigation canals (‘aryks’), creating not only practical solutions for agriculture but also bonds of trust with youth from Uzbekistan. 

In Kadamjay District, the Kadamjay Jashtar Committee hosted the first International Festival of Friendship and Peace in May 2025, inviting a youth delegation from Tajikistan – the first such visit since the violent border clashes of September 2022. In a region where mistrust has lingered for years, this event marked a breakthrough moment for cross-border dialogue and cultural exchange.

Policy priorities for youth-led peacebuilding 

For youth-led peacebuilding to thrive, Kyrgyzstan needs policies that institutionalise youth roles in peace processes and ensure sustainable funding. International partners should directly support local youth initiatives and establish regional peace funds. Critical needs include digital peacebuilding training, professional mediator programmes and global youth exchanges. 

Kyrgyz youth are transforming conflict through practical action by managing shared resources, launching cross-border ventures and countering online hate. Their grassroots approach shows that peace isn't just about stopping violence, but also building trust and shared prosperity. Given proper support, youth don't just participate in peacebuilding – they lead it.