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UNESCO is deeply concerned with promoting the participation of young people as serious and reliable partners in its efforts to cultivate a Culture of Peace. Equipping young people with mediation skills and providing them with a forum to express themselves and to exchange views and experiences, which is precisely what the Peace Cruise endeavours to achieve, corresponds fully to the UNESCO Strategy for Action with and for Youth. We therefore support this effort to bring youth together in a spirit of dialogue and cultural exchange.
UNESCO is glad to be associated in this initiative which promotes two of the most promising common denominators for sustainable development: Youth & Peace.
Youth and Peace
Youth is not a homogeneous group. Socio-economic, cultural, gender as well as age differences determine in which way and to which extent young people are susceptible to social risk and define their vulnerability. However, these differences also indicate that there are numerous modalities by which young people can participate in society. Young people constitute a vital force; their condition constitutes an apogee of both experience and expectation. They possess aspirations particular to this time in their lives. Such potential and energy must not be lost in the face of precarious conditions such as unemployment, exclusion and poverty, which are particularly deleterious to underprivileged youth. By attempting to develop an identity and sense of purpose in such an environment, young people are susceptible to great deception, anger and even revolt. They run the risk of severing themselves definitively from a full engaged life. Hence, the capacities of young people must be nurtured to enable their evolution from childhood to complete adulthood in order that they become both responsible and engaged.
Young People
Young people do compose a critical age group which is capable of mature reason and action. The involvement of young people should not be relegated to some ambiguous future, rather their participation is needed now. The notion that young people will one day inherit the earth should be dispelled; in fact, their involvement today is cogent for shaping this world. Young people have a legitimate demand to be heard, to express themselves; moreover, it is imperative that their valuable contribution to society be recognised. They are capable of formulating pointed criticism concerning all domains of life; and therefore, should not be consulted exclusively on issues involving youth, although their expertise in this area is evident. The involvement of young people is a clear necessity for human development and sustainability.
We would like to emphasise the importance of involving young people in the International Year for the Culture of Peace. Youth should be considered as a main actor in the celebration of this year. Sharing a culture of peace, solidarity and non-violence with young people is UNESCOs main objective. The following four ways of action are therefore proposed:
- Mobilisation
Co-operation with youth organisations in the mobilisation and training of youth in a culture of peace, negotiation and reconciliation through:
- Leadership in negotiation and peace-building
- Sports, team work and fair play
- Cultural activities with an educational component (music, exhibitions, puppet-shows, etc.).
- Testimonies
To listen to young people and collect "accounts" of their experiences in post-conflict situations; the effect of violence on their daily lives; and their efforts to build a culture of peace in their communities. These could be made public through newspaper/radio interviews, video or a Website.
- Campaigns
Development of pilot projects with young people to train them in campaigns for solidarity action (Youth in prison, Youth with AIDS, etc.)
- Intergenerational Dialogue
To promote intergenerational dialogue through co-operation with different partners, organisations and NGOs.
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