There are 1.8 billion young people between the ages of 15 and 29 in the world today. Youth are often overlooked and pushed aside, yet, are one of the most active agents for peace and security. Young people are often key figures in political or social movements. However, this leadership rarely translates into being able to actively represent themselves at the decision making level. Five years after the adoption of UN Security Council Resolution 2250 on Youth, Peace and Security, how are young people continuing to push beyond policy and what are the challenges and opportunities ahead of us? What kind of opportunities and challenges has COVID-19 created for young peacebuilders around the world?

Zander at +Peace sat down with Jordan Stevenson at STAND: the Student-Led movement to end mass atrocities & Mena Ayazi at Search for Common Ground. On today’s episode, we dive deeper into Jordan & Mena’s work on US Youth, Peace, and Security (YPS) legislation and working in the peacebuilding field.

Interested in more on YPS? Dive into:
US YPS Act: https://www.sfcg.org/youth-peace-security-act/
STAND: https://standnow.org/2020/03/10/yps-act/
A Budding Bill to Support Youth: www.spokesman.com/stories/2020/mar/15/budding-bill-support-youth/%3famp-content=amp

Music credit: 'Coffee Shopping' by Bruno Freitas, licensed under hooksounds.com.