UN Youth of Finland, LSU – National Council of Swedish Children and Youth Organisations and UN Students of Norway have come together in effort to bring together young Nordic peacebuilders for the creation of a Nordic Coalition on Youth, Peace and Security! The Nordic Forum on Youth, Peace and Security will be organised in Helsinki, Finland on the 22nd to 24th September 2023. This initiative is kindly funded by the Norden 0-30 programme of the Nordic Culture Point.
The overarching aim is forming a Nordic Coalition on Youth, Peace and Security (YPS), a formalized structure of cooperation between national coalitions and networks on YPS. The coalition will support Nordic youth in their YPS work, including National Action Plan processes and implementation of the three UN security council resolutions (2250, 2419 and 2535) through effective flow of information and peer-to-peer learning. In other regions of the world, regional coalitions and networks already exist. This is something that has been missing in the Nordic region and where we want to plant the seeds for long-term, sustainable joint cooperation in our region. The network will work towards strengthening Nordic action for youth, peace, and security, and will be a platform for future collaboration.
The event
The event includes capacity-building training, networking, defining common issues and solutions in youth and peace and security advocacy and work. The forum will include interactive sessions and peer-to-peer learning. A tentative programme can be seen here. After the Forum, results of the discussion are put into a report and follow-ups in national contexts are encouraged. The costs of travel, accommodation and meals are covered by funding from the Nordic Culture Point.
Apply
We are calling for young peacebuilders (ages 15-29) in the Nordic countries, working or volunteering with different fields of peace and security. Here, peace and security is defined more broadly, and it includes the work done at the grassroots level. We encourage youth with less formal experience and youth from underrepresented groups to apply. Apply here: https://bit.ly/nordicyps
The event has a quota of 10 participants from each country: Finland, Norway, Sweden and Denmark. Youth from the North Calotte, Åland and Faroe Islands are encouraged to apply. The application period ends 1st August 2023. The applications will be reviewed by the organizers and chosen participants notified by 10th August. In choosing participants, we take into account previous experience and motivation as well as representation from different fields of peacebuilding.
Additional information:
Sini Al-Fraidawi
Youth & Peace Coordinator, The UN Youth of Finland