Summary

Life & Peace Institute (LPI) has been implementing a 24-month project from January 2018, entitled ‘Connecting Across Divides: Youth as Drivers of Peace’, financed by the European Union’s Instrument contributing to Stability and Peace, co-financed by the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida) through the Swedish Mission Council, and in partnership with Mandera Peace and Development Committee and Wajir Peace and Development Agency. This project, implemented in Nairobi, Mandera and Wajir counties, aims to strengthen local capacities for inclusive and sustainable peace and security, with a specific focus on the role of youth and security actors. The project aims to develop an evolving evidence base on local perceptions and experiences of insecurity, enhance the capacity of young people to articulate their peace and security needs, build trust and promote collaboration between youth and security providers, and work towards more locally-driven policy-making around peacebuilding and governance. This is with the understanding that diverse views by young people on peace and security evidence the heterogeneity of the youth. Youth engagement needs to take into consideration this factor to inform programming, being cognizant that there is no one-size-fits-all approach and that experiences shape young people’s opinions and decisions on peace and security. In view of the generational gap in society, the youth are often seen as perpetrators than decision makers when it comes to peace and security issues. This creates an imbalance when it comes to programming for peace because those in the room may be those that fuel violence and not those that execute it. There needs to be a point of convergence where these two actors meet.