Youth and Peacebuilding

The youth population (aged 15–29) in the Europe and Central Asia region (ECA) constitutes 56 million people, making up around a 25% of the total population. More than half of the youth live in urban areas. As such, young women and men in the ECA constitute a tremendous and essential asset worth investing in. Connected like never before, young people want to and already contribute to the resilience of their communities, proposing innovative solutions, driving social progress, and inspiring political change in urban as well as rural contexts.

The promotion of youth priorities for sustaining peace is critical to strengthening the reconciliation efforts, preventing crises, advancing peace, and overall stabilization. As part of work on youth-led peace-building, UNDP Istanbul Regional Hub, in collaboration with UNFPA and the Regional Youth Cooperation Office (RYCO) conducted and published The study Shared Futures: Youth Perceptions on Peace in the Western Balkans. The report outlines the key messages and priorities of young women and men, between 15 and 29 years of age in Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo*, Montenegro, North Macedonia, and Serbia. Shared Futures was developed through a participatory research process that involved a youth advisory group, representing youth across the Western Balkans region in the design of the study framework and the analysis of its findings. 

UNDP supports youth empowerment in the region by:

• Supporting young men and women as positive agents for sustaining peace
• Supporting youth leadership development and networking
• Supporting youth inclusion in policy and political processes