Culture of Peace

The Youth Advocacy Teams (YATs) are international groups of youth led by the UNOY Peacebuilders International Secretariat. The YATs are active at all levels of advocacy work: background research on countries and representatives, creating the message UNOY Peacebuilders wants to present to decision makers, campaigning and conducting advocacy visits.

The advocacy teams put forward the vision of UNOY Peacebuilders to the delegations of:

European Union commissioners in Brussels;
Members of the European Parliament;
Permanent Mission to the United Nations, and the organs and agencies of the United Nations.

Youth active in the Youth Advocacy Teams will get training on:

the Culture of Peace, peace education;
the United Nations System and functioning of other intergovernmental institutions, including the European Union;
the national government system and functioning.

Young people will also review national youth policies and ask governments to integrate a culture of peace framework in national youth policies. The youth will acquire practical skills, such as: speaking in public; advocacy and lobbying; and writing reports.

History

UNOY Peacebuilders played a leading coordinating role within the international team of youth representatives that presented the results of the Mid-term Report on the Culture of Peace to Permanent Missions to the United Nations in New York and to the 60th UN General Assembly on 14 October 2005. The following year, UNOY Peacebuilders led a youth team to further lobby the United Nations, for the mainstreaming of the Culture of Peace, and the creation of a Global Youth Fund and Programme for a Culture of Peace. Additionally, the team was active in raising awareness amongst youth on the UN Secretary General’s Study on Violence Against Children.

UNOY Peacebuilders has applied for Consultative Status with ECOSOC in order to work closer with UN Agencies and other bodies which are part of the UN system.