Brutal conflicts around the world, democratic backsliding in many places, geopolitical power struggles, technological threats, the climate emergency: the list of current challenges seems endless. Young people around the world are disproportionately affected by these cross-border crises already today. At the same time, they are rarely included in a meaningful way in addressing them. Yet, also demographic reasons speak in favour of their inclusion: we have the largest youth population ever, and by 2030 over half of the world’s population will be under 25 years old. Although it is often young people who are actively working for a better future and peace all over the world, they are often stereotypically viewed as either potential perpetrators of violence or helpless victims. The meaningful inclusion of young people is crucial for preventing and resolving conflicts and sustaining peace.

In 2015, the United Nations (UN) Security Council recognised the important and positive role of young people in peace and security processes for the first time, setting the normative foundation of the Youth, Peace and Security (YPS) agenda. Ten years and two more Security Council resolutions later, however, comprehensive implementation is lacking. This is also true for Germany: the agenda hardly plays an important role in German foreign policy and national implementation is insufficient. Yet, issues related to peace and security are very relevant to young people in Germany, not just since the start of the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine. Peace and security are “youth issues” and young people want to shape their present and future also in these areas. Currently, Germany further has important opportunities to influence the future of the agenda: Germany chairs the UN Peacebuilding Commission and is applying for a non-permanent UN Security Council seat for 2027/2028.    

The agenda holds untapped potential for Germany in the midst of multiple challenges. What opportunities does YPS offer for multilateral cooperation, particularly in the area of conflict resolution and peacebuilding, in a changing world order? How can Germany support the full implementation of the YPS-Agenda at the multilateral level, in other countries and regions, but also at the national level and support young peacebuilders? In order to answer these and other questions and develop concrete policy recommendations for German decision-makers, we will convene a group of young peacebuilders from Germany and different regions of the world in Hamburg. We want to amplify young voices on peace and security issues that are too often ignored and complement German perspectives with international insights on the challenges and opportunities of implementing the agenda. We also organise events and develop a virtual platform to raise the visibility of issues related to youth, peace and security - not only for decision-makers, but also for other young and non-young people.