Practical matters
Practical matters consist of factors relating to both the peacebuilders’ and the organisation’s effective functioning. This section of the chapter examines the most common challenges that our interviewees experienced while establishing their peacebuilding organisations, as well as their advice on dealing with them.
Funding and Credibility
The biggest challenge for young peacebuilders is funding, which is affected by multiple factors. First, all interviewees are either still young or established their organisation while they were. Because of the aforementioned lack of trust in young people, they were not provided funding by the public and private agencies they contacted. At times, they had to fund their initiatives themselves – some even had to use money they would have used on daily expenses. Young female peacebuilders struggled even more because they were given less consideration than men. These factors are a result of the positionality of the peacebuilder, but the qualities of the organisation also come into play. It is much harder to get funding when the specific field of the peacebuilding organisation opposes national/international interests and agendas, such as LGBTQIA+ or anti-nuclear organisations. An intersection of two or more of the factors mentioned in this paragraph significantly decreases funding opportunities.
The second biggest challenge for young peacebuilders is credibility. The positionality factors that decreased funding similarly brought about issues with credibility. As a result of their age and gender, our interviewees were not taken seriously by public and private agencies, as well as the communities they were trying to help. When they were given opportunities, it frequently was a case of tokenism, where they were hired or contacted symbolically – to give an impression of diversity. In regards to the communities they were trying to help, it was difficult to gain the people’s trust because they were sceptical of how much the young peacebuilders could help. Due to the constant questioning of their capabilities, our interviewees found it easy to get disheartened and emphasised the importance of a strong support system to combat these insecurities.
Partners and Collaborations
To combat the lack of funds and credibility, you must pick good partners (those who will join your organisation) and collaborations (those who will temporarily work with you for a specific period or project). peacebuilding is not a job to do alone – to work effectively and sustainably, you must surround yourself with like-minded individuals and organisations. Your partners and collaborations will form your network, providing increased credibility and funding opportunities as a result of showcasing your organisation to a wide audience.
Start networking as early as possible – the more connections you make, the more opportunities you have to meet with a diverse group of individuals. However, it is important to only enter partnerships and collaborations with people and organisations that have the same goals and values as you. Being selective in this manner ensures that your time and energy go towards efforts that are aligned with yours.
If you have sufficient access to technology, setting up social media accounts and a website is imperative. These resources act as your public profile, allowing other initiatives to view your organisation and its aims as long as they have internet access.
In terms of stakeholders, bigger does not necessarily mean better. Make sure that the organisation funding your efforts does not engage in activities that go against your goals and values, especially if their impact is much bigger than yours. Although this is a general rule, it stretches a bit when it comes to governments. Some interviewees said that although you might have opposing views, if you have the opportunity, you should collaborate with the government of the location you are focusing on. If you can influence the activities of the government, your outreach will be bigger: ‘It is critical to influence government policy and make ideas flow upwards. If regulations change, the impact on people’s actions is direct. An efficient approach must be large enough in scale to influence the opinions of the majority’ (Giorgi Tumasyan, Georgia). While collaborating with the government is recommended, be aware that it is a tricky and lengthy process – you should carefully evaluate whether that is something you want to spend significant time and resources on.
In terms of partners, choosing motivated and like-minded individuals means that you can trust them with your organisation and its activities – proper task distribution is crucial for efficiency and effectiveness. Furthermore, in youth-focused peacebuilding organisations, it is important to transfer your position as the head of the organisation to a young person once you start to feel out of touch with youth (not as a concept, but as a community). When the leaders themselves are young people, your organisation can continue to address the issues of youth with the same energy and drive as when you started it. This is precisely what Victoria Ibiwoye from Nigeria has done – she says ‘If you decide that nobody can do it better than you, your vision will just stay and die with you.' To ensure your vision stays alive, it helps to stay aware of your positionality within your organisation.
Security
The issue of security encompasses both personal and organisational security. Some of the interviewees mentioned how they and/or their organisation were threatened by the governments of the location they were working in. This was especially the case in environments of social unrest and political corruption, and when the organisation’s activities opposed the government’s agenda. Jan Jan Maran from Malaysia pointed out how she and her organisation have to be careful ‘both offline and online because spies can be anywhere.' It is important to be conscious of security to ensure the well-being of the organisation’s members and the longevity of its activities.
Personal Matters
Running a peacebuilding organisation is no easy task – your personal attributes and condition are likely to both affect and get affected by your work. For example, your educational background: while there is no educational requirement to start a peacebuilding organisation, certain academic or work-related experiences might have their merits (such as studying international relations, being a mediator, etc). However, peacebuilding can exist in every field imaginable, and your willingness to learn and create peace within your expertise will always speak for itself.
During your peacebuilding process, it is only natural that you will fail at times. While it might be difficult to cope with failure and the negative feelings it can bring (such as disappointment or hopelessness), our interviewees recommend that you get acquainted with them: ‘Be a friend to failure because failing is not the end of life, it’s telling you have to try again’ (Idris Bilyaminu Ndasadu'Lau, Nigeria). Once you recognise failure as a natural part of any endeavour, you can frame it as a learning experience and change your outlook to be positive and constructive.
Almost all of our interviewees mentioned that they struggled with balancing their personal lives with their peacebuilding activities in many ways. For example, the most common complaints were about finances, mental health, and time management. While the balance between one’s life and peacebuilding will differ for each individual, our interviewees all emphasised the importance of a strong support system made up of individual effort as well as a reliable community of loved ones. The specifics of emotional and psychological support were discussed in great detail in the interviews – thus, the following section of the chapter is dedicated to this.