. . TOLERANCE AND SOLIDARITY . .
An article by Meg Villanueva, based on the Forum website
On 21-22 August 2015, the first ever Global Forum on Youth, Peace and Security will bring together around 500 participants, including government representatives, practitioners and experts in peace and conflict work, youth activists and young peacebuilders from more than 100 countries. The Global Forum is a turning point towards a new international agenda on youth, peace and security. It stems from the themes debated at the Security Council Ministerial Debate on the Role of Youth in Countering Violent Extremism and Promoting Peace, organized by the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan during its presidency of the Security Council, on 23 April 2015. The forum will build on the on-going efforts by a multiplicity of actors to decisively step-up global attention to young people’s positive contribution to peace and chart a common agenda.
For the first gathering of this kind, young people, youth-led organizations, non-governmental organizations, governments and UN entities will come together to agree on a common vision and roadmap to partner with young people in preventing conflict, countering violent extremism and building lasting peace. The Global Forum will be hosted by the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan under the Patronage of His Royal Highness Crown Prince Al Hussein bin Abdullah II, and co-organized by the United Nations represented, on behalf of the Inter-Agency Network on Youth Development (IANYD), by Office of the UN Secretary-General’s Envoy on Youth, Peacebuilding Support Office, UNFPA and UNDP, in partnership with Search for Common Ground and the United Network of Young Peacebuilders.
One of the expected outcomes of this forum is the Amman Declaration, which will present young people’s vision and roadmap towards a strengthened policy framework in support of young people’s roles in preventing and transforming conflict, countering violent extremism and building peace. This Amman Declaration is entirely developed by young people, building on the Guiding Principles for Young People’s Participation in Peacebuilding (bit.ly/1Jz90F6 or bit.ly/1GPQ1QO). UNOY Peacebuilders is coordinating the drafting of the Amman Declaration, and has involved a lot of young people from all over the world, through written consultations, questionnaires and focus-group discussions.
The Forum will engage participants in conversations on key policy recommendations towards a new international agenda on youth, peace and security, which will be captured in a final Declaration. This forum will provide a platform for exchange of experiences, innovative ideas and programmatic frameworks that work. To learn more about the key topics to be discussed, as well as inspiring young speakers, please visit https://www.unteamworks.org/Youth4Peace.