The Fundació Catalunya Voluntària is promoting a two-year capacity-building and advocacy initiative focused on peace and security. The initiative, titled ‘Amani Pamoja’, which means ‘Peace Together’ in Swahili, is led by the Italian organization Agency for Peacebuilding, based in Bologna, and implemented in partnership with Peace-Up!, from Germany, and three youth organizations from East Africa: Lamu Youth Alliance, Center for Youth Dialogue, and Prospect Initiative, from Kenya, Tanzania, and Uganda, respectively.
The initiative aims to strengthen the capacities of young people committed to improving key aspects of their communities, such as peace, security, democracy, and respect for human rights.
For FCV, this is a very special project, as it allows us to collaborate with African civil society youth organisations and young people who are leading initiatives in these countries to improve the social and political situation in their communities. These young people are determined to play a role in processes of consolidating peace, security, and governance, demonstrating a truly remarkable degree of courage, initiative, and leadership skills in a context where many young people are victims of various forms of violence. The partner organisations of this initiative, with their distinguished track record of advocacy in the social and political spheres, are taking decisive action against this violence, using dialogue, participation, commitment, and non-formal education. However, they often lack the support, spaces, and resources necessary to carry out essential work for improving peace and security, specially for young people, women, and those who do not belong to the dominant cultural, religious, or ideological group (in countries of immense cultural richness and diversity).
This initiative is framed within the Youth, Peace and Security Agenda, formalised through Resolution 2250/2015, binding on all UN member states, unanimously adopted by the Security Council 10 years ago. This milestone represented a significant and global shift towards recognising the capabilities of young people and their role as promoters, builders, and guarantors of peace. The FCV played its part in this achievement, with two members of the FCV team participating in the international advocacy group that, over three years, led the efforts for the adoption of said Resolution, representing the United Network of Young Peacebuilders (UNOY), based in The Hague.
A decade later, the meaningful participation of young people in peace and security spaces faces many obstacles that this initiative aims to remove, such as, for example, the lack of information on existing peace and security policies, networks and initiatives, the lack of resources and capacities (in general), the lack of trust and security (in particular), the absence of support, etc., with the political and social situation in some of the partner countries being especially critical, due to political instability, religious extremism and the existence of armed conflicts in the region.
The main task of the FCV, part of the Steering Committee, is the training program scheduled to take place in Vilanova i la Geltrú (Barcelona) at the end of 2026. Leaders from the six participating countries will receive training focused on developing their skills to carry out political and social advocacy actions within the framework of the global peace and security agenda, that will take place in all six countries throughout 2027.
For more information about this initiative, which is supported by the European Commission’s Erasmus+ program, please email projectes@catalunyavoluntaria.cat. The five-page resolution can be accessed at this link.