This volume brings together young scholar-practitioners who draw on their own lived expertise and academic practice to examine how youth navigate complex socio-cultural and political conflicts, to bring about social and cultural change, creating space for positive peace despite decades of compounding crises. Contributors draw on expert knowledge and practice in a truly global range of contexts, covering Latin America and the Caribbean, Central and West Africa, Southeast Asia, the Middle East, and Eastern Europe. The specific insights of each chapter are situated in relation to the global policy architecture of the Youth, Peace and Security agenda, established by the UN Security Council, linking local and global contexts and extending limited but rapidly growing attention to youth as knowledge producers on peace and conflict

Provides up-to-date analysis in the context of the new Youth, Peace and Security Agenda Emphasises intersectionality and political/historical contextualization of cases and issues Offers multidisciplinary contributors from the Global North, Global South, leading scholars and new voices in the field

Autorentext

Katrina Leclerc is a PhD candidate and part-time professor in Conflict Studies at Saint-Paul University. Her research focuses on gender- and age-sensitive peacebuilding, youth engagement, and inclusive policy in conflict-affected contexts. Katrina is a policy specialist advising governments and UN agencies on the Women, Peace and Security (WPS) and Youth, Peace and Security (YPS) agendas, including in Canada, Chad, the DRC, Kenya, Lebanon, Nepal, and Rwanda.

Erika Isabel Bulan Yague is a PhD candidate at Griffith University. She specializes in young people's engagement in emergencies, peacebuilding and disaster risk reduction. She has over a decade of experience working with the UN, governments, and civil society, including roles with UNICEF, UN DPPA-DPO and UNFPA. Her work and research are grounded in feminist and Global South perspectives on youth leadership and participation.

Helen Berents is a Senior Lecturer in International Relations at the School of Government and International Relations at Griffith University. She holds a PhD in International Relations from the University of Queensland. Her research draws on peace studies, feminist international relations, and critical security studies to consider representations of children and youth in crises and conflicts, and engagements with lived experiences of violence-affected young people.

Klappentext

Youth Leading Change offers a critical and timely intervention into the Youth, Peace and Security agenda. It sets a new benchmark for research that challenges hierarchies of knowledge production and advances youth-centered approaches within both academic and policy discourse.

Professor Bahar Baser, Durham University

With young people already at the forefront of driving change, this collection rightly elevates their voices and expertise within academic and policy arenas, ensuring the YPS agenda is informed by those who are shaping its reality.

João Scarpelini, first-ever UN Youth Advisor in Somalia (2015-19) and Programme & Technical Specialist, UNFPA

This volume brings together young scholar-practitioners who draw on their own lived expertise and academic practice to examine how youth navigate complex conflicts to bring about positive change. Contributors offer expert insights from global contexts. Each chapter connects local experiences to the broader Youth, Peace and Security agenda and advances the recognition of youth as knowledge producers in peace and conflict.

Katrina Leclerc is a PhD candidate and part-time professor in Conflict Studies at Saint-Paul University. Katrina is also a policy specialist advising governments and UN agencies on Women and Youth, Peace and Security.

Erika Isabel Bulan Yague is a PhD candidate at Griffith University. Her expertise focuses on young people in emergencies and peacebuilding, working with the UN, governments, and civil society.

Helen Berents is Senior Lecturer in the School of Government and International Relations, Griffith University. Her research explores the politics of children and youth in international conflict and peacebuilding.

Inhalt

Chapter 1: Young People as Movers and Shakers of Peace and Security.- Part One: Emerging Trends in Youth and Peacebuilding.- Chapter 2: Young Women's Everyday Digital Peacebuilding in the Philippines.- Chapter 3: From Margins to Movements: The Gendered Implementation of the Youth, Peace and Security Agenda in Iran.- Chapter 4: Local Voices, Global Impact: Youth, Peace, and Security Discourse Analysis in Northwestern Cameroon.- Chapter 5: Moldova's Youth in Peacekeeping and Peacebuilding Processes.- Chapter 6: Reflections on Emerging Trends in Youth and Peacebuilding.- Part Two: Youth and States: Challenges and Collaboration?.- Chapter 7: Congolese Youth Navigating Peace and Security Reducing Community-Level Violence.- Chapter 8: Youth on the Frontlines in Myanmar: what role for Youth, Peace and Security?.- Chapter 9: From Victims to Actors: Analyzing Youth Participation in Nigeria's Peace and Security.- Chapter 10: Obligation Unfulfilled?: Navigating the Relationships between Youth, States and the Governance Architecture.- Part Three: Regional Perspectives.- Chapter 11: Young People Shaping Southeast Asian Peace.- Chapter 12: Generation Peace: Youth-Driven Solutions for Security in Latin America and the Caribbean.- Chapter 13: Progress, Challenges, and Opportunities: Enacting National Action Plans on Youth, Peace and Security in West Africa.- Chapter 14: Reflections on Regional Perspectives.