We speak about the role of young people in peacebuilding, made all the more critical because of the continent so-called youth bulge, which means that now more than half of Africa's population is under the age of 25. And by 2050, that population will reach over 830 million at the World Innovation Summit for Education aka WISE Summit, held in December 2021. One of the highlights was a session on peacebuilding as a way to explore the role young people play, and how it affects education, Lakshitha Saji Preylis, Director of Search for Common Ground and Co-chair of the Global Coalition on Youth, Peace and Security moderated that discussion, first introducing Irena Grezelj, who co-authored the collaborative five years strategy for the high-level global conference on youth inclusive peace processes in Doha, Qatar, in January 2022. And finally, we speak with Cameroonian peacebuilder Dionne Sharon Epie who is a project manager for local Youth Corner Cameroon, a youth-led peacebuilding organisation with over 20 years of experience. She also ensures gender mainstreaming at the organisation and serves as the national programme manager for the Commonwealth Youth Peace Ambassadors.
Allafrica is grateful to the Carnegie Corporation of New York for supporting our reporting on peacebuilding in Africa