Peace Fellowship - Promoting culture of peace via strengthening cooperation of youth peace workers

<< Background >>We applied for the Peace Fellowship to address rising human rights challenges. Conflicts, and violence surged, especially during COVID-19. Young people faced disparities and limited participation, further marginalized by the pandemic. Escalating violence and ineffective responses, the war in Ukraine, and human rights violations in Europe underscore the urgent need for peace education. The Youth Peace Ambassadors Network (YPAN) aimes to build capacity in human rights, conflict transformation, and peace-building education. Since 2014, YPAN had trained future peacebuilders through global seminars. Partner organizations, each facing unique challenges, needed innovative practices to enhance their peace-building efforts. This project sought to empower YPAN fellows with tools for peaceful conflict resolution and to educate more individuals in this field. The Peace Fellowship addressed the need for youth participation, especially in conflict resolution and peacebuilding. The need for young people to be equipped with tools to promote peace, and nonviolent conflict resolution across Europe. By enhancing the skills and competencies of YPAN fellows, we aimed to create a ripple effect of human rights advocacy at both local and European levels.<< Objectives >>In this project, we aimed to achieve four main objectives: 1) Enhance partner organizations' capacity in human rights, peace education, and advocacy. 2) Foster cooperation and innovative approaches through a Toolkit for the Peace Fellowship. 3) Deepen understanding of country-specific human rights issues and facilitate networking. 4) Raise public awareness of human rights through educational activities and advocacy. These objectives were in line with program priorities, focusing on quality improvement and promoting common values. Intellectual outputs, including the Toolkit and online learning modules, supported skills development and wider dissemination of project outcomes. By fulfilling these objectives, we envisioned a future where young people are equipped to drive positive change in their communities and contribute to a more peaceful world.<< Implementation >>The project was divided into three main phases: the learning phase, the local actions phase, and the development of a Framework of Competences as a toolkit. The project included various work packages and activities, such as training courses, e-learning, human rights mapping, workshops in partner countries, and initiatives implemented by peace fellows. The training in Germany and Poland focused on human rights, conflict transformation, and advocacy campaigns. An e-learning platform provided additional resources for participants.Peace fellows conducted a human rights mapping exercise to identify issues in their local communities and initiated local actions to address the identified problems. Each partner organization organized workshops tailored to the needs of the national cohort, fostering networking and cooperation with local experts. Additionally, a Toolkit of Peace Fellowship was designed to serve as a comprehensive resource of practices and methods. Dissemination events were organized in every partner country, and the toolkit was widely introduced to local and national stakeholders. These activities aimed to empower youth as peacebuilders and advocates, fostering positive change in their communities and in Europe.<< Results >>As a result of the project, 33 young workers from 7 countries gained peacebuilding and advocacy skills through two trainings in Germany and Poland, as well as an e-learning platform. The local community issues were mapped from a human rights perspective, resulting in the identification of 25 human rights issues across seven countries. 18 workshops were organized to meet the needs of the peace fellows. Participants put their gained skills into practice by initiating local actions and advocacy campaigns in their communities to address the identified human rights issues. A total of 7 local actions took place in participants' communities, and partner organizations built their capacities by gaining staff trained in facilitating human rights activities.Additionally, a Toolkit of practices and methods was created and translated into 8 languages, which was presented through local dissemination events and virtual international dissemination events in all the partner countries.