Peace at War

Conflicts shatter lives and stunts development. And at the heart of many violent conflicts lie issues of inequality, injustice and exclusion. Conflicts have multiple drivers, operate as systems, are often local and do not stop at state borders. Responses require the influence, resources and commitment of different people and institutions, at different times. And young people, as members of a dynamic group in society, play a crucial role in positively transforming conflict situations and in building the foundations of democratic and peaceful societies. Without recognizing youths as agents of positive change, their trajectories in peacebuilding would likely be ignored, wasted and at best, under-utilized.

Peacebuilding activities address the root causes or potential causes of violence and stabilize society politically and socioeconomically. Thus, successfully create an environment supportive of self-sustaining, durable peace; reconcile opponents; prevent conflict from restarting; integrate civil society, and address underlying structural and societal issues. That is why partner organisations are putting their voices together to start youth workers' mobility to: 

1. Build the capacity of youth workers of ensuring the social integration of war victims;

2. Prepare youth workers to be able to play a stronger role in transforming conflict situations and in building the foundations of democratic and peaceful societies;

3. Equip youth workers with knowledge on humanitarian aid;

4. Train youth workers on conflict transformation and open dialogues to overcome violence, prejudice and discrimination.

A number of themes will be covered: 1) introduction to conflict prevention and peacebuilding, 2) culture of peace vs culture of violence, 3) gender in conflict prevention and peacebuilding, 4) the notions of discrimination, vulnerability and empowerment and 5) responding to conflict: non-verbal communication/active-listening/negotiation/mediation/social integration of war victims.