This chapter explores the key themes identified from the interviews and is designed for easy navigation. You can quickly access specific concepts or revisit topics by clicking on the theme that interests you most. The chapter is divided into four main sections:
1. Establish context; 2. Practical matters; 3. Emotional and psychological support; and 4. Values, Areas of interest and Plans of action.
Each section begins with a brief description of its content to help you find exactly what you need.
This chapter should not be read as a rulebook or checklist but as a source of inspiration. We advise that you use it to guide your efforts because it is formed entirely from the priceless experiences of 100 peacebuilders from around the world, all of whom were courageous enough to share their expertise.
Wisdom from youth peacebuilders: A thematic analysis of how to build peace
Take-away tips
Countless factors play into peacebuilding work, according to the experiences of our interviewees. Peace is a practice, not an end goal, and it is important to be aware of what concepts affect the continuous efforts to establish and sustain a state of peace. While you can always come back to a section of this chapter to look for context-specific advice, there are also some general take-away tips based on the experiences of our interviewees:
Identify your ‘why’. Once you figure out your purpose, you can look for already existing organisations that work towards it. You don’t have to create an organisation from scratch to help – your work can be equally (if not more) impactful even if you join an existing organisation because of all the obstacles that come with creating and gaining credibility for one (Luis Bekteshi, Albania).
Make a small impact. Even if you influence just one person, that is still one person’s life that you changed. A forest blooms from one seed – don’t underestimate your power.
Just start. Most times, starting is the hardest because we tend to get intimidated by our ambitions. At times like these, remind yourself that you cannot make dreams real without starting somewhere – put yourself out there, trust the process, and the results will follow.
Peacebuilding is like a puzzle – when everyone contributes a piece of their own, it creates a beautiful whole. We, as young people, hold immense power. We hope this chapter inspires you to contribute your own fragment to the puzzle so that we can create a better world, Peace by Peace.