UNOY Peacebuilders

The United Network of Young Peacebuilders (UNOY Peacebuilders) is a global network of young people and youth organisations active in the field of peacebuilding. Our main areas of action are networking, training, empowerment for action/support to youth projects, campaigning and advocacy, and practical research on the role of youth in peacebuilding.

UNOY's online forum

Do you want to have your say in the Peacebuilding process and keep up to date with events in your region? If so, UNOY recommends that you visit our online forums, where everybody can voice their opinions, concerns or even just share something interesting. Here, we can all engage in discussions about exciting topics which affect us all. Once entering the forum you can begin sharing your thoughts with like minded and passionate people all across the globe. So don't delay!

"The potential of youth to build peace in a multi-cultural society", Cyprus, May 2008

During a two day conference in Cyprus UNOY Peacebuilders, represented by Celina del Felice and Menno Ettema, delivered a key note speech on the power of youth as Peacebuilders to the Turkish and Greek speaking youth and youth workers of the island. The personal examples of Celina and the examples of UNOY members Youth Leaders Sierra Leone, GZI Peace Initiatives from Philippines and the UNOY Youth Advocacy Team were well received. Youth felt inspired and supported when they heard about the work other youth do for peace around the world.
On the second day, UNOY and UNDP jointly gave a one hour workshop to explore what youth in Cyprus from both sides of the conflict could do together. The youth came up with a list of initiatives including environmental awareness raising, dealing with unemployment and how to organize joint 'easy to do yourself' leisure activities.
The Conference was organized by the Dutch International Child Development Initiatives and European University Cyprus with the support of UNDP-Act.

3rd International Salon for Peace Initiatives in Paris

UNOY Peacebuilders sent two representatives to the 3rd International Salon for Peace Initiatives, which took place in Paris from 30 May to 1 June 2008. The event is organised by the French Coalition for the Decade in the framework of the "International Decade for the Promotion of a Culture of Peace and Non-Violence for the Children of the World (2001-2010)". There were 15.000 visitors and hundreds of French and international exhibitors presented their peace and non-violence initiatives. The round table discussions included speakers from the Council of Europe, Fundación Cultura de Paz, UNESCO, Franciscans International, Peace Brigades International and Nonviolent Peaceforce. Throughout the weekend, several inspiring workshops were given on a wide range of topics related to peace and non-violence. After the salon, UNOY Peacebuilders represented the Dutch Platform for Culture of Peace during the General Assembly and participated in a meeting on the proposal for an International Declaration on children’s right to violence-free education and to peace and non-violence education.

UNOY has moved!

On 21 May, the International Secretariat of UNOY Peacebuilders moved to a new office in The Hague.
New address:
Laan van Meerdervoort 70
2517 AN The Hague
The Netherlands

Call for applications

Peace Education Training project officer, starting per direct
African programme officer, starting June
Advocacy programme officer, starting as soon as possible
Information and Communication Officer, starting July
For more information, click here.

Newsletter

The newsletter of May 2008 is now available. You can find it by clicking on 'latest newsletter' on the right-hand side of the page. If you would like to subscribe to the newsletter, please send an e-mail to campaignHiddenText@unoy.org and put 'subscribe newsletter' in the subject.

Member of the Month

The member of the month is Action des Jeunes pour le Développement Communautaire et la Paix (ADECOP) in Congo Democratic Republic. More information about their projects can be found by clicking on 'member of the month' on the right-hand side of the page.

Dutch Queens Day campaign successful

On April 30th, Dutch Queens Day, UNOY held the 'Violence Against Children and Youth' awareness raising campaign. The Campaign took place at a UNOY stand in the city centre of Utrecht. The day was a great success thanks to our many volunteers. On the campaign day we reached a tremendous amount of people and brought across our message to a wide audience, despite the unfavorable weather conditions. The people who we talked to at our stand were from all ages; from babies to the elderly. All these different people were from many different backgrounds and cultures.
We met a lot of very nice people who were all very interested in the issue of violence against children and youth. In addition, we handed out more than 700 balloons, 1000 postcards and 300 buttons. Furthermore, more than 80 children and youth left their handprints on the canvas and almost 300 signatures were gathered. Also the day before the campaign the youth radio station FunX had an interview with us about the campaign. The interview was broadcasted the following morning.
We appreciate all the wonderful help we received from our volunteers. Thank you all for your commitment and enthusiasm! We look forward to future VACY campaigns.

Advocacy Workshops at Radboud International Model United Nations 2008

On April the 15th the UNOY Advocacy Team conducted a series of workshops on advocacy and political lobbying at the Radboud International Model United Nations in The Netherlands. Read more here.

NGO meeting with Professor Pinheiro and Public Hearing in the European Parliament

The UNOY Peacebuilders Advocacy Team participated on April 14th 2008 to an NGO meeting with UN’s former independent expert on violence against children, Professor Pinheiro, followed by a public hearing in the European Parliament’s Subcommittee on Human Rights in Brussels. Read more here.

Youth Advocacy for a Culture of Peace: A Reflective Guide for Action in Europe

‘Youth Advocacy for a Culture of Peace: A Reflective Guide for Action in Europe’ is a tribute to the role of youth in peace advocacy. It is about youth coming together and helping each other to understand how to carry out efforts towards achieving a culture of peace. It is a space for youth to share their advocacy experiences with other youth in order to give them the encouragement and guidance to push for their cause not just to the wider public, but to policy-makers as well. Where youth have participated in advocacy campaigns, this tool-guide is a way to sustain those efforts and to keep youth empowered.
The publication was written based on the critical reflections of the Youth Advocacy Teams of UNOY Peacebuilders in 2005, 2006 and 2007. In addition to UNOY Peacebuilders, youth and youth organisations shared their advocacy experiences. The organisations involved include U Move 4 Peace (Belgium), the Helsinki Citizen’s Assembly - Vanadzor (Armenia), YERITAC (Armenia), the Hague Appeal for Peace (NY, USA), the Human Rights Information & Documentation Centre (Georgia).
In ‘Youth Advocacy for a Culture of Peace: A Reflective Guide for Action in Europe’, five youth advocates share their experiences and inside tips. In addition, a number of other youth who have been involved in peacebuilding advocacy have provided input. Based on this, an extensive tool-guide was developed, which includes practical tips, examples and exercises. Basic concepts such as advocacy, peace and the role of youth are also explained.

The tool-guide motivates youth to take action in the context of the International Decade for the Culture of Peace and the All-Different All-Equal Campaign.
Please click here to download the report (1.1 MB).