Today’s generation of youth-1.8 billion, is the world’s largest to date, with 408 million young people estimated to live in violence or conflict-affected settings (UNFPA, 2015; UN, 2018). In previous years there had been a stereotypical conception of the roles of youth in violent conflict, specifically with young men being seen as perpetrators of violence and young women as the victims.
On the 9th of December 2015, the United Nations Security Council adopted Resolution 2250, the first resolution on Youth and Peace and Security in recognition of the important role of youth in promoting peace and driving development in societies. In spite of the landmark resolution, there is a noticeable challenge generally with national implementation and domestication resulting from lack of awareness, lack of skills and capacity and stakeholder’s commitments to push it through.
Recently again, the United Nations reaffirmed the potential contributions of youth in building sustainable peace with the commissioning of theMissing Peace: Independent Progress Study on Youth, Peace, and Security which outlines practical ways of domesticating and strengthening the youth, peace and security agenda globally and locally. For this to become a reality, youth themselves must take center stage. The idea is not that they should do so alone, but rather that they should act in partnership with others. However, for youth to be able to initiate partnerships for UNSCR 2250 they need to understand the resolution, recognize opportunities for engagement, and have a set of general activity implementation skills. As part of efforts at mobilizing and strengthening the capacities of youth towards conflict prevention, peace building and designing a national strategy and action plan for the implementation of UNSCR 2250 in Nigeria, this event is aimed at exploring the components of the United Nations Security Council Resolution 2250 and the Independent Progress Study on Youth and Peace and Security. It is designed to equip and build the capacity of youth and youth-led organizations with the necessary skills to effectively advocate and monitor the implementation of this resolution. It will serve as an avenue for generating information from relevant stakeholders on the changing trends of youth and peace and security in Nigeria and also create an opportunity for intergenerational dialogue between young peacebuilders and policymakers within national institutions working on peace and security in Nigeria.