Putting into practice Resolution 2250 through learning and capacity building

Public Event on Youth and PeaceLaunch event for UNITAR’s free e-learning course on Youth and Peacebuilding and AC4’s YPS Leadership Certificate

Venue: United Nations Headquarters in New York, Room E

Date and time: Thursday, 26 April 2018, 15.00 – 16.30 

Registration: https://www.unitar.org/event/full-catalog/putting-practice-resolution-2250-through-learning-and-capacity-building

Moderator:

Ms. Margaret Williams, Senior Peace and Security Officer at the World Federation of UN Associations (WFUNA).

Participants in the discussion: 

H.E. Ms. Valentine Rugwabiza, Permanent Representative of Rwanda to the United Nations
Ms. Margaret Williams, Senior Peace and Security Adviser at the World Federation of UN Associations (WFUNA)
Mr. Mohammed Foboi, Head of Students Against Destructive Actions and Decisions (SADAD)
Ms. Anca Gliga, UN Alliance of Civilizations (UNOAC) fellow and member of the UN Major Group for Children and Youth
Mr. Kobi Skolnick, The Advanced Consortium on Cooperation, Conflict and Complexity (AC4) at Columbia University 
Ms. Svenja Vollmer, United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR)

The Event

On 09 December, 2015, the Security Council unanimously adopted its first ever resolution on Youth, Peace and Security (UNSCR 2250), thereby recognizing the importance of the positive contributions which young people are making to the maintenance and promotion of international peace and security. Furthermore, it affirmed the important role that youth need to assume in the prevention and resolution of conflicts and called for the engagement of youth as partners and leaders at all levels of decision-making and in peacebuilding processes. While Resolution 2250 has thus set the frame for a wider debate on this topic, it does not provide concrete guidance on effective responses at local, national, regional and international levels. “The Missing Peace: Independent Progress Study on Youth, Peace and Security”, which will be presented in the Open Debate of the Security Council on 23 April 2018, for the first time formulates practical guidance for the implementation of Resolution 2250. 

The progress study urges the international community to “invest in the capacities, agency and leadership of young people”. The way forward is thus very clear: we need to strengthen the confidence and capacities of young leaders who can generate solutions aligned with their values, while addressing root causes and systemic challenges. It has thus already become clear that education, training and capacity building of both youth and their counterparts at local, national and regional levels are essential to translate Resolution 2250 from the halls of the United Nations to policy makers, actors and change-agents at the ground level. 

In line with this priority, the United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR); the UN Peacebuilding Support Office (PBSO) and Columbia University’s Advanced Consortium on Cooperation, Conflict and Complexity (AC4) will host an open dialogue on channeling into action the key conclusions of the Progress Study through local and global capacity building. Join us on April 26!

The Courses

We invite you to join us at the UN headquarters in New York on April 26, on the occasion of the launches of UNITAR and AC4’s respective learning programmes designed to further the implementation of Resolution 2250. 

UNITAR’s Youth and Peacebuilding e-learning course enables learners from around the globe to better understand the current situation of youth in complex contexts, their needs, challenges and potential, and to explore possible entry points for young people’s involvement in peacebuilding activities. Through two parallel tracks for young people and relevant decision-makers in fragile contexts, the course provides participants with the opportunity to develop strategies for youth empowerment, and serves to enhance basic skills that are critical to successfully contribute to peacebuilding processes. The focus of the ‘youth’ track is on building and reinforcing capacity and sparking young people’s will to become active and engaged, while the ‘officials and policymakers counterpart’ track aims at promoting engagement with promising youth initiatives within their spheres of influence. 

Based at Columbia University, AC4 strives to foster sustainable peace through innovation and integration, working to enable and support integrative research and practice on sustainable peace, constructive conflict engagement, and sustainable development. Its new Youth, Peace and Security Leadership Certificate develops capacity and supports networks of practitioners and policy-makers engaged in the local and international YPS agenda. In so doing, it recognizes the work already being done within the YPS realm, while helping practitioners link their work to tools, research and practice in related fields to elevate and amplify their work. Participants engage in person and through an online portal in a comprehensive in-house professional development program designed to develop YPS-related skillsets and capacities, and culminating in the design and implementation of a practical initiative. The programme will be implemented at Columbia University in New York, as well as in Columbia Global Centers in Nairobi, Beijing, Paris, Istanbul, Rio de Janeiro, Santiago, Amman, and Mumbai, as well as online. 

To attend the event, please register no later than April 24. 

Registration: https://www.unitar.org/event/full-catalog/putting-practice-resolution-2250-through-learning-and-capacity-building 

Photo Credit: UNITAR

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