Gen P(eacebuilder)

Brutal conflicts around the world, democratic backsliding in many places, geopolitical power struggles, technological threats, the climate crisis: the list of current challenges seems endless. Young people all over the world are particularly affected by these cross-border crises. At the same time, they have little or no real influence in their resolution. There are also demographic reasons for this: there are more young people than ever before and by 2030, more than half of the world's population will be under 25 years old. Although young people all over the world are often committed to a better future and peace, they are often stereotypically seen as either potential perpetrators of violence or helpless victims. The effective participation of young people is central to the prevention and resolution of conflicts and lasting peace.

In 2015, the United Nations (UN) Security Council recognised for the first time the important and positive role of young people in peace and security efforts, laying the normative foundation for the Youth, Peace and Security (YPS) agenda . Ten years and two more Security Council resolutions later, however, its comprehensive implementation is still lacking. The YPS agenda hardly plays a role in German foreign policy either and national implementation is inadequate. Yet issues relating to peace and security have been very much on the minds of young people in Germany, and not just since the start of the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine. Peace and security are "youth issues" and young people also want to help shape their present and their future in these areas. 

The agenda therefore harbours 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 specifically promote the comprehensive implementation of the agenda at multilateral level, in other countries and regions, but also nationally, and support young peacebuilders? In order to answer these and other questions and develop concrete policy recommendations for German decision-makers, we are bringing together a group of young peacebuilders from Germany and different regions of the world in Hamburg. We want to strengthen the young voices on peace and security issues that are too often ignored and complement German perspectives with international insights on the challenges and opportunities in implementing the agenda. We also organise events and develop a virtual platform to make topics related to youth, peace and security more visible - not only for decision-makers, but also for other young and non-young people.