Young peacebuilders from the region gather to advance global agendas on Women, Peace and Security and Youth, Peace and Security
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Youth from the region at the training organized in Tirana, Albania, on Women, Peace and Security and Youth, Peace and Security. Photo: UN Women Albania/Ina Omuri
Young peacebuilders from the Western Balkans participated in a two-day training to strengthen their capacities on the Women, Peace and Security (WPS) and Youth, Peace and Security (YPS) agendas. Around 25 young women and men from Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo[1], North Macedonia and Serbia gathered in Tirana to discuss linkages and ideas for advancing these two global agendas (WPS and YPS), at the regional and local levels.
The UN Resident Coordinator in Albania, Fiona McCluney, during her opening remarks highlighted that in particular young people have the ability to use diverse and innovative approaches to peacebuilding. “Through dialogue and meaningful interaction, you are the drivers of change,” - the UN Resident Coordinator noted.
UN Women Representative in Albania, Michele Ribotta, opened the training with a call to youth: “We urgently need solutions to build a different way of handling conflict in our communities. You have a lot of the solutions and ideas. With your active engagement, we can overcome divisions and build trust”.
Ms. Irena Mitri from the Ministry of Health and Social Protection gave introductory remarks highlighting that women and girls have an important role in preserving peace and in reconciliation and conflict resolution.
The training was an opportunity for participants to reflect on the synergies and opportunities presented by the WPS and YPS agendas in the Western Balkans, highlighting that women and youth are not just beneficiaries of peace and security efforts but also essential actors and architects for this agenda and for creating more peaceful and inclusive societies.
Participants were inspired by interactive sessions such as the “Power Walk” and by sharing best practices from other countries and territories on specific youth-led projects and initiatives promoting peace and gender equality in the region. They highlighted cultural exchanges as a powerful tool for creating channels of communication and promoting understanding and empathy and setting into motion processes of reconciliation and peacebuilding.
Participants indicated that the training was a great opportunity to get inspired with new ideas to implement, both nationally and regionally, in order to make a difference in peacebuilding.
This training made me understand that we have to work and build a society where the new generation have security and trust in the institutions, organizations, and in the community they belong to.
Elisabeta Voci – Member of Erasmus Students Network, Albania
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Without youth, we don’t have equality, inclusion, and trust. Youth are not just the future; but they are the present, and we have to hear their voice.
Alma Fejzic, Project Manager, CROA, Bosnia and Herzegovina
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This training was a strong reminder that youth and women are not just beneficiaries of peace and security efforts, they are essential architects of sustainable peace and inclusive security.
Viona Sejdiu, Coordinator, Kosova Population Foundation
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The training was just another example of how through regional youth cooperation, young people can be better positioned in the policy making processes. A better region indeed starts with YOUth.
Dejan Rizinski, RYCO, North Macedonia
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Stepping up for peace: his training fueled our commitment to shaping a future where peace and youth empowerment go hand in hand.
Milica Mutavdzic, Belgrade Centre for Human Rights, Serbia
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The activity was organized by UN Women Albania in partnership with UNFPA and UNDP, as part of the United Nations initiative, “Youth for Inclusion, Equality and Trust”. The two-year initiative empowers young people to engage in constructive narratives, strengthen intercultural dialogue, inclusion, gender equality and create mutual understanding and trust in the Western Balkans, and is financially supported by the UN Secretary-General's Peacebuilding Fund.
[1] References to Kosovo shall be understood in the context of the UN Security Council Resolution 1244 (1999).
