Young Peacebuilders in South Caucasus and Central Asia

In 2024, UNAOC launched the 8th edition of the Young Peacebuilders programme, bringing it for the first time to the South Caucasus and Central Asia region. The programme supports young civil society leaders in gaining skills and competencies to address negative stereotypes, prejudice and polarization, while bringing visibility to their projects and initiatives designed to promote diversity and intercultural and interfaith dialogue.

Organized within the framework of Peace4Culture Global Call, an initiative launched by the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Azerbaijan in collaboration with UNAOC in 2022, the Young Peacebuilders in South Caucasus and Central Asia is a prime example of meaningful partnerships that strengthen the groundbreaking UN Security Council Resolutions 2250, 2419 and 2535 on Youth, Peace and Security which recognize young people’s important and positive role in upholding and advancing international peace and security.

The Peace4Culture Global Call celebrates cultural diversity and highlights the importance of sustainable peace in reviving cultural spirit based on a notion that all people share values of compassion, humility and respect for others regardless of their religion, race, culture or gender. The Peace4Culture Global Call was created to respond to contemporary challenges, including strengthening the sustainability and resilience of peaceful societies and international peace systems.

THE PARTICIPANTS

UNAOC selected 20 young people through a competitive call for applications. The group is composed of young people aged 18–25 years old with diverse cultural and religious backgrounds from the following countries: Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan.

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THE PROGRAMME

The programme uses blended curriculum and consists of four phases of learning, to maximize the outcomes that can be achieved through a single one-week face-to-face training and encouraging participants to apply the lessons learned:

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Phase 1: Online Engagement

To start their intercultural learning and exchange, participants took part in an intense online training that introduced them basic peacebuilding terms and concepts. The initial online interactions helped participants to get to know each other and the programme team before their first in-person gathering. The online modules were designed to test their understanding of the curriculum by challenging the participants to share their experience, opinions and insights which encouraged discussions and sparked curiosity to learn more. Moreover, the curriculum used context specific case studies and examples, making the content relatable and easier to understand.

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Phase 2: Face-to-face Workshop

The workshop, designed to consolidate and leverage the learning from the online modules, helped participants to acquire more skills and competencies in peacebuilding, intercultural dialogue and conflict transformation. Through experiential learning, games and other interactive methods, participants became better prepared to design and implement their own initiatives upon return to their community.

The workshop was held in Muscat (Oman) in June 2025.

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Phase 3: Applied Learning

Currently, participants of the eighth edition implement their personal Action Plans. Many conduct workshops and training sessions for fellow youth, reinforcing and integrating the learning through concrete practice and multiplying the messages and benefits of their intercultural learning experience.

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Phase 4: Results-sharing symposium

As a grand finale, the participants will have the opportunity to share their experiences, lessons learned, achievements and recommendations with a broad audience of practitioners, UN staff, policymakers, civil society and other experts. Date and location of the symposium is yet to be determined.