As part of the Learning Planet Festival 2025, a joint initiative of the Learning Planet Institute and UNESCO to celebrate the International Day of Education, the session The Ripple Effect: Youth Driving Positive Peace Across Intersections gathered young peacebuilders, educators, and grassroots leaders from diverse backgrounds. The 100% youth-led event, organised with and by youth, features inspiring on-the-ground efforts and celebrates the diverse contributions of youth globally.
Peacebuilding isn’t just about addressing conflicts, but also about creating thriving, resilient communities – Elizabeth Chukwu, co-author and moderator of the session, LearningPlanet Peaceful Futures Ambassador
A Call for Change and Engagement
Felipe Gobatto Scheibler, Policy and Research Coordinator at the International Humanitarian Law Clinic of the Federal University in Brazil, underscores that peace is not merely the absence of war but the presence of justice, security, and opportunity.
Brazil is a country that, formally speaking, has been at ‘peace’ for decades. We haven’t been involved in armed conflicts as they are usually understood. However, we emerged from a military dictatorship just a few decades ago, which could be seen as prolonged armed violence. We also deal with serious issues of violence within organised crime, which affects our communities as much as, if not more than, traditional warfare.
Liana Liu Ioannides, a peace activist from Cyprus, reflects on the reality of growing up in a divided society and the impact of failed peace processes on young people’s trust in reconciliation.
For me, the most heartbreaking reality is that the Cyprus conflict has been going on for more than half a century. We’ve seen negotiations come close to success and then fail at the last moment, eroding trust in peace processes,” she shares. “The youth in conflict-affected societies often feel the most resistance to peace because they have never known what peace looks like.
Leanna emphasises the necessity of grassroots and policy-level involvement. “it’s very important that we invest in peace education and capacity building of youth because they can get involved in any kind of negotiations, any kind of decision making, youth first have to be able to let go of the hate-projecting narratives that we have been taught to hold our entire lives.”
Peace Education as a Tool for Change
Abhishek Vyas, co-chair of the Cambridge Peace Education Research Group, speaks about the importance of making peace education more accessible and actionable. “One of the things youth can work towards is how to make education around peace, not cliched, not something that is regulated by UN declarations and other political bodies over and over again. And how do you make it more effective?” – he follows.
Weronika Knowska, representing the Peace Ambassadors Network, brings a critical grassroots perspective to the conversation based on her experiences working with refugees and youth affected by conflict. She highlights the need for trauma-informed education and dialogue.
We are working with very fragile communities affected by PTSD, affected by war, that are coming from very difficult backgrounds. And so it’s again about creating the atmosphere of shared humanity, of creating brave spaces – a space where we can share our views, where we can be actively listened to, and we can just get to know each other better and see the humanity in a human.
Dennis Lallienzuol, founder of the Bridge School Project in Manipur, echoes this concern and highlights the importance of contextualising peace education. “When we asked 1000 children directly impacted by conflict we worked with,” he reflects, “for them, peace is about having the possibility to dream and having the hope not to fear.”
Dennis describes his initiative’s approach, which includes fostering intergenerational dialogue, integrating indigenous wisdom, and ensuring children and youth have opportunities to express themselves. “We don’t want to go on to the Western concept of peace education because it’s irrelevant for us. We have our own ethnic divides, and we have our own ethnic complexities. We use storytelling, art, and role-playing to help children and youth make sense of peace in their own realities,” – he concludes.
Ensuring Meaningful Youth Participation
A recurring theme in the discussion was the issue of tokenism. Felipe underscores the need to include youth in formal peace discussions. “There are so many ‘youth leadership’ programs that hand out certificates, but what comes after? Young people take these courses, receive their certificates, and are left wondering what to do next because the job market and decision-making spaces remain closed to them.”
Christelle Barakat, a Lebanese peace practitioner, reinforces this idea: “How can we ensure that young people are not only seen as contributors but as essential architects of lasting peace? We talk a lot about youth inclusion, but more actions are needed. It’s about making sure youth voices don’t just get heard, but that they actually influence decisions.”
Building on that, Liana underscores the importance of collaboration. “If we want to change the narrative, youth groups must work together. The youth peace agenda, women, peace in general, and the security agenda are separate but deeply interlinked. Too often, marginalised groups work in silos, but real impact happens when we create synergies across movements.”
Dennis calls for systemic reforms: “Peacebuilding education is not something abstract—it must be practical and embedded in our daily lives.”
Felipe sums up the conversation with a pressing call to action. “We need financial investment in youth peacebuilders. If we don’t invest in young people who want to work for peace, they will be co-opted by industries that profit from conflict. The peace sector needs to be as well-funded as the war industry.”
Youth-Driven Peaceful Future
The Ripple Effect: Youth Driving Positive Peace Across Intersections session at the Learning Planet Festival 2025 showcases the immense potential of youth-led peacebuilding efforts. It reinforces that young people must not only be given a seat at the table but also be provided with the tools, resources, and systemic support to drive sustainable change.
In response to this call, Learning Planet Institute and Global Education Futures are starting a joint initiative – Peaceful Futures: Cultivating the Next Generation of Young Peacebuilders programme. Together with international partners and leading experts, we aim to train and empower young leaders worldwide. Built around the co-design and acceleration of sustainable and scalable peacebuilding change projects tailored to their local contexts, the programme is based on strategic foresight thinking, conflict transformation tools, and a peace-oriented mindset.
- Learn more about the programme here
- Watch the full playback
